Might Not Be That Bad
by AngelOfDarkness777
Summary: Elena Fowler had just moved to the most boring town in the world, Jasper, Nevada. Until a run-in with a few kids at her school, and their robotic companions, she learns that there's more to this town than meets the eye. Rated T for action/violence and mild language. NOTE: I do NOT own ANYTHING of Transformers Prime, just my OC, Elena Fowler. CHAPTER 7 JUST ADDED!
1. New Surroundings

"But dad, I don't want to move to some town in the middle of nowhere!" Elena shouted angrily at her father. "It's going to be a good experience for you, and it'll be closer to my job so I won't have to travel so often. And don't you use that tone with my young lady!" Agent Fowler said crossly. "I'll have to move away from all of my friends and attend a completely different school. Not only that, but I'll be living in Jasper, Nevada, the most boring town around. I'll have nothing to do, no friends, and be completely miserable! What kind of father are you?" Elena stated condescendingly. "The kind that's ending this discussion right now and says that you're going and you're going to like it there, get used to it, and be happy with what you got. Now go to bed, we're leaving in the morning." Agent Fowler retorted then left the living room, which was completely empty other than the moving boxes piled throughout it. Elena glared at her father as he left with contempt. "_I'm going to like it, _as if." she scoffed before stamping up to her room, and uneasily went to sleep.

The following morning Elena packed her stuff as slowly as she could. She was going to make this as hard on her father as it was on her. "Elena hurry up! The movers have already finished putting our stuff into the truck!" her father yelled. Elena sighed. She continued packing miserably. When she was finished, she glumly slung her dark green backpack over her shoulders, then walked down the staircase and out the door. Elena solemnly opened the passenger car door of her father's car and climbed in. She sighed unhappily as her father started the car and she watched as her home was lost from her sight. For hours Elena looked out her window, watching city turn to open roads, and open roads turn to extensive desert. Finally they eventually came to the Jasper. Elena's father drove them to a small neighborhood and pulled into the driveway of a olive green two-story house. Elena climbed out of the car and gazed at the house that was to be her new home. "Isn't it nice? It's big, spacious, and in a nice neighborhood. You'll like our new home, trust me." Agent Fowler said as carried a few boxes, stacked on top of each other, into the house. "_New_ _home_? More like prison." Elena said as she closed the car door and walked into the house with her father.

The movers came and brought all of her and her father's stuff into the rooms of the house. Elena sorted through the boxes labeled "Elena's stuff" and placed them around in her empty room, well empty except for the boxes and bed. An hour later… Elena heard a knock on her room door. "Come in." she said half-heartedly. The door opened and her father walked in. "What do you want?" Elena asked in a condescending tone. "I just wanted to see how organizing your room's going?" he replied as he surveyed the room. "I'm already done." Elena replied as she lounged on her neatly made bed. Agent Fowler looked around his daughter's room. "You're done unpacking? In an hour?" he asked in disbelief. "Yeah." Elena replied sardonically as she placed her Ipod ear buds in her ears. "You know what? I think you should walk around town and become familiar with everything. Maybe meet the neighbors, get to know everyone, make new friends." he said in a positive tone. Elena ignored him and continued to listen to her Ipod. "Elena." Agent Fowler said. "Elena?" he asked trying to get her attention. "Elena!" he shouted at her. "What?" Elena replied calmly as she took out her ear buds. "Did you hear a word I said?" her father asked. "Hmm? Oh yeah. Meet the neighbors right?" Elena said, pretending to be innocent. "Very funny. Just go and meet the neighbors please. And try to be pleasant." Agent Fowler said. "Fine." Elena said as she lazily hopped out of her bed and walked downstairs and out the door.

Elena walked down the sidewalk and up to the next-door house, and knocked on the door. A middle-aged woman with jet-black hair and wearing a green hospital outfit opened the door. "Hi, I'm Elena Fowler. I just moved here with my dad and I wanted to introduce myself to the neighbors." Elena said in a polite tone. "You're Agent Fowler's daughter? Where do you and your father live?" the woman asked. "The green house over there." Elena said, pointing to her house. "Oh, you're right next to us! How nice. Oh I'm sorry, I'm Mrs. Darby. You should meet my son Jack! Jack we have a visitor!" Mrs. Darby shouted. A teenage boy with short jet-black hair and wearing a dark grey sweater, walked over to Mrs. Darby. "Yes mom?" he asked her. "This young lady is Agent Fowler's daughter." Mrs. Darby told Jack. "I didn't know Fowler had a daughter?" Jack asked. "I didn't know you knew my father? He said that we moved here to be closer to his work. Do you work with him?" Elena asked Mrs. Darby. "Oh, no. I'm a nurse." she replied. "Oh. So do you go to the high school here?" Elena asked Jack. "Um, yeah I do. I'm Jack by the way." Jack replied. "I'm Elena. Hey, are there any good clubs to join after school? Cause I need to have something to entertain myself around here." Elena asked. "Oh yeah. There are some…really interesting ones. One in particular…" Jack said, the last part said quietly to himself. "So I'll guess I'll see you at school then. Nice meeting you." Elena said, then began to walk back home. "You too." Jack said.


	2. New Friends

After going door to door around the block, Elena returned home to relax for the rest of the day. She opened the front door and walked into the kitchen to grab a drink from the refrigerator. She grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and closed the refrigerator door. Elena noticed there was a small sticky-note on the refrigerator. She looked at it and read it out loud to herself, "Got a call from job, had to leave be back later. Remember to get to bed, tomorrow's first day of school." she said reading the note. "Well then, I guess I have the house to myself for the rest of the night." she said smugly. A few hours past and it was about seven o'clock. Elena sat down comfortably on the couch, grabbed the remote for the TV and tuned it to HBO to watch horror flicks.

Agent Fowler opened the door and entered the house. He heard the loud and unmistakable sound of horror film "screaming" and "monster growling." He walked into the living room to see Elena sound asleep on the couch, remote in hand. He sighed and looked at the clock on the wall, which read "11:05." Agent Fowler heaved a sigh, grabbed a blanket from a nearby open box, and placed it snugly on his daughter. As he went to turn off the lights, he turned around and looked at Elena one more time. "Sweet dreams." he said then turned the lights off, and headed to his own bed.

The next morning, Elena woke to the smell of burnt or burning food. She immediately jolted upright to find out where it was coming from. She stood up and walked into the kitchen, where she found her father struggling with a frying pan full of blackened, what Elena would guessed were strips of bacon. She peered in from the back of the kitchen and watched as her father left the pan on the stove to check on the toast, which smoke was puffing out from the toaster. Her father tried to grab the toast to put it on a plate, but it was searing hot and he immediately dropped it and placed his burned fingers into his mouth. "Dad? Are you okay? Do you need help with…everything?" Elena asked while staring at the chaotic scene before her. Agent Fowler looked up at her, "Oh no honey I'm fine. You like your food extra crispy right?" he said as he grabbed the pan and placed strips of burnt bacon and eggs on a plate. "Sure…dad. My favorite." Elena said hesitantly as she sat down at the dining table. "Good cause…that's how I made it." Agent Fowler said as he placed the plate in front of her. "Um, dad?" Elena said. "What?" her father replied. Elena pointed behind him to the plume of smoke emerging from the toaster. He looked at the toaster quickly. "Sweet Lady Liberty!" he shouted as he grabbed a cooking glove and ran over to try to snuff the smoke. Elena couldn't help but giggle a bit as she watched her father panicking to stop the smoke.

After breakfast, Elena went to her room and got ready for school. She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth, put on a dark blue tank top with a rose design centered in the center, and some blue jeans. She quickly brushed out her shoulder-length black hair and put it up into a tight braid. Elena then put on her high-top sneakers, slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the door. "Hey Elena, you want me to pack you lunch?" her father asked. "No thanks dad, I'll eat at school." she replied, hoping to avoid another meal catastrophe. Elena walked out the door and managed to catch the bus right before it left. At school, Elena took biology, math, and English before the lunch break. After Elena walked through the cafeteria line and got her food, she sat down at an empty table in the dining hall. She was about to bite into her food when she was interrupted by a girl with twin puffball hair with pink streaks and accents and a Japanese purple shirt with shorts and leggings. "Hey, you're the new girl right?" she said in an energetic tone. "Uh, yeah." Elena replied still unsure about this girl. "Well I'm Miko Nakadai, and just wanted to welcome you to the school." she said as she stretched her hand towards Elena. "Oh, I'm Elena Alexandra Fowler. But call me Elena." Elena said while shaking Miko's hand. "Fowler had a kid? I didn't know that?" Miko said in a perplexed tone. "I didn't know everyone in this town knew my dad. How do you know him?" Elena asked with suspicion. "Oh! He just…helped me with one of my homework assignments once!" Miko stuttered. "A homework assignment?" Elena inquired. "It was a history report, and I was at the museum and…I got lost, so he helped me find my way and even helped me find research on my report!" Miko fibbed. "Well that was, nice of him. I guess."

After lunch was over, Elena sat through history class, participated in P.E., and painted in art class. She was relieved after the last school-bell ring came, and happily packed up her school supplies and walked towards the sidewalk. She sat down on a bench to wait for the bus, and out of the corner of her eye, saw Miko, Jack and a small boy wearing an orange shirt run behind the school building. Elena got up and decided to go investigate. She ran over to the wall and peeked around to see an alleyway. She saw Jack, Miko, and the boy together talking to a person on a blue motorcycle. As Elena wondered who this mysterious person was, the person flashed like an image fading and disappeared. Elena couldn't believe her eyes, she blinked and rubbed her eyes to make sure she didn't imagine it. Then, the motorcycle transformed into a giant blue robot and began talking to Jack, Miko and the other boy. This really shocked Elena, jumped back and clutched her heart, for it was beating a mile a minute. She pinched her arm a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming, then peered back into the alleyway to get another look. She continued to watch them interact and got out her cell phone to take a picture. She stepped a little more into the alley and aimed her phone at the robot. She kept moving closer, then she slipped on a trash can lid and fell on her back.

Everyone's eyes locked onto Elena with surprise. Elena quickly got up and stared back with fear in her eyes. "Scrap." Jack, Miko, the boy and the robot all said in unison. "See, I told you guys we need to get a new alley to talk in." Miko said haughtily. Elena wanted to scream and run, but she also wanted to know what the robot was and why people were talking to it. She stood there and looked at them, Jack in particular. "So, am I interrupting something?" Elena said, trying to have confidence. "Um, well…not really." Jack stuttered as he turned and looked at Arcee, "Are we going to have to take her with us or is it a 'don't tell anyone or else' deal here?" "Neither Fowler or Optimus is going to be happy about this." Arcee said glumly. "Hey, She's Fowler's daughter! Remember guys? She can come with us and Fowler won't be mad at all." Miko exclaimed. "Wait, my dad knows about…you?" Elena said, turning towards Arcee. "Yep. So I guess we're taking you with us then." Arcee said, then placed her hands to where her ear would be. "Ratchet, send Bumblebee over to the school for pick-up." Arcee said over her com-link. "Bumblebee?" Elena asked while looking at Jack. Elena heard a car horn and turned around to see a yellow and black muscle car. "That would be Bumblebee." the boy said. "Wait, you're Rafael right?" Elena asked. "Exactly. But you can call me Raf." the boy replied as he walked over to the car. The car door opened by itself and Raf hopped in immediately. Elena stared in disbelief. "Jack will ride with me, you, Raf, and Miko will go with Bumblebee." Elena heard Arcee say. She turned around to see Arcee back in her motorcycle form with Jack in the seat. "Come on Elena, time for your first ride in an autobot!" Miko said as she grabbed Elena's hand and pulled her over to the yellow car. The car replied with electronic beeps and whirs. "He said hello." Raf said, translating the sounds. "Um, hello to you too…Bumblebee." Elena replied hesitantly, as the car door opened and she and Miko got inside.

Elena buckled up and uneasily sat through a half an hour drive through the desert. When they quickly approached a large mesa, Elena began to worry. "Um, why are we about to drive into that giant rock?" she asked uneasily. "Wait for it…" Miko said as they got closer. Suddenly, the base of the mesa opened up to reveal a passageway underneath. They entered it, and eventually came to a large room full of electronic equipment. When they were stopped, Elena, Raf and Miko got out of Bumblebee. Elena looked around the immense room, wondering what other surprises were in store. Jack, who was riding Arcee in her motorcycle form, came in and hopped off to join the others, while Arcee and Bumblebee transformed into their robot forms and walked towards them. "So my dad knows about all of this? You guys too?" Elena asked speaking to Arcee and Bumblebee. "Yep. And there's still more to show you." Arcee replied. "Really?" Elena asked, unsure as if "more" was possible.


	3. Meeting the Team

"Not another one!" Ratchet shouted in surprise as he walked into the room. Elena looked at Ratchet with a confused countenance. "Um, what does he mean 'another one?'" Elena asked as she turned towards Arcee and Bumblebee. "I believe he means another human." Arcee said. "Why have you brought another human to our base? You might as well tell the whole planet where we are." Ratchet said in a condescending tone. "Elena, this is Ratchet. Ratchet meet Elena Fowler, Elena meet Ratchet." Jack said in a sarcastically cheery tone. "Fowler? As in Agent Fowler?" Ratchet asked in bewilderment. "Uh-huh, I'm um, Agent Fowler's daughter. Nice to uh, meet you Ratchet." Elena said, doing her best to sound friendly, even if she thought he was a total jerk. "Oh, well then. Same to you." Ratchet replied. "Don't worry, he grows on you." Arcee said sarcastically. "Do the others know about this?" Ratchet asked. "Nope. But they will soon. When are Optimus and Bulkhead returning from their missions?" Arcee inquired. "Precisely in two-point-eight seconds." Ratchet responded as a large portal of green light appeared. Both Optimus and Bulkhead stepped through the ground bridge, with frost and a thin layer of ice clinging to their armor.

"Any sign of Starscream?" Jack asked curiously. "No. But I believe that we will see him again." Optimus said stoically, he then turned and looked at Elena. "Who is this? He asked with a slight amount of surprise in his voice as his optics focused on Elena. Elena looked at Optimus hesitantly. He was enormous, even by giant robot standards, and a bit intimidating. Miko gave Elena a shove with her elbow, indicating to Elena tat she should say something. "Um, hi. I'm Elena. Elena Fowler." Elena said nervously as she stared at the huge red and blue robot. "I am Optimus Prime. The leader of the Autobots." the red and blue robot said. "She's Fowler's kid, Optimus." Raf added in. "So she can stay right? I mean her dad knows all about you guys so why not?" Miko exclaimed quickly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Elena. Are you sure your father won't mind you staying here?" Optimus asked. "Well, I'm not sure. He doesn't even know I'm here, with you, and he never told me that he worked with... What are you exactly?" Elena asked. "We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. You can call us Autobots for short." Optimus explained. "And why are you here?" Elena inquired. "To protect your planet from the threat of the deceptions, who seek to reap your planet's resources and harm it's inhabitants." Optimus said in a rather serious tone. "Whoa…" was all Elena could manage to say. "Wait. So Fowler had a kid? Ha! That's a good one." Bulkhead teased. "And who are you?" Elena asked, a tone of annoyance at the comment on her father in her voice. "Bulkhead." he replied. "The toughest, strongest, con-wrecker ever! And by personal best friend." Miko boasted. "Okay, so Bulkhead, Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee and Ratchet. Correct?" Elena said, while pointing to everyone in order. "That is correct Elena." Optimus said. "So are their any more of you guys here on Earth?" she asked. "Well there's Jackie." Bulkhead added. "Jackie?" Elena asked. "Wheeljack is his true name, and he's currently traveling around your planet. Seeing the sights as it were." Ratchet said.

"Oh. So… what do you all usually do, when you're here?" she asked awkwardly, looking at Raf, Jack and Miko who all simply shrugged their shoulders. "Oh! I have an idea! We can all rock out to Slash Monkey or play Twister. Your pick." Miko exclaimed. "Um, I'm up for a game of Twister. Anybody else want to join?" Elena asked, "Jack? Raf?" "Uh, sure." Jack replied. "Okay." Raf said. Miko ran over to the TV stand and grabbed the Twister box off of the top of the TV. She opened it and quickly set it out on the floor. Soon Raf, Jack and Elena were all contorted and tangled over the sheet of multi-colored dots.

Everyone continued to play Twister and all of the autobots had gathered around to watch the interesting spectacle of humans trying to untangle themselves and maneuver over a pane of colorful dots. No one noticed the sound of the elevator in service, being focused on the game. Agent Fowler stepped out of the elevator and walked over to the railing above the main level. He looked down and saw the normal, the kids playing games or messing around. Then, he noticed that there were four of them instead of three. He also noticed that the fourth kid was Elena. "Elena!" Agent Fowler shouted in shock. Elena recognized the stern voice of her father and nervously looked up to see him glaring at her in disbelief. "Uh-oh." she said to quietly to herself, then untangled her body from the game. She stood up and prepared to face her father as he hurried down the stairs towards her. "What in the world are you doing here!" Fowler shouted. Elena opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by her father, "Don't answer. Prime! What was it this time? The cons go after her? The kids let it slip out? What happened?" "Agent Fowler, I assure you Elena was not in any danger from the deceptions. From what I've been told, the children were at school where Arcee and Bumblebee went to take them here. Arcee said she had briefly transformed into her cybertronian form in a secluded alley way, when Elena saw her by following the children. With Arcee's cover blown and Elena being related to you, she brought her back to base. I assumed you would not be concerned about this." Optimus explained calmly. "This most definitely concerns me Prime. She wasn't supposed to find out about you. She was supposed to have a normal and _safe_ life, and not be chased by cons every day." Fowler said. "I wasn't supposed to find out about this? So you get to work with awesome giant robots from another planet, while I'm supposed to be your perfect little angel who is completely unaware of everything?" Elena said cynically. "Elena, you don't understand…" Fowler began. "Don't understand?' I understand perfectly. I understand that I'm apparently not worthy of your trust and you don't believe in me." she retorted. "Listen young lady, you're coming home with me this instant!" Fowler demanded, while grabbing Elena's arm. Elena broke free from her father's grasp. "No! I'm not going anywhere with you. For once I'm going to do what I want and not what you want! For once, I'm going to be in control of my life, okay?" Elena shouted angrily at her father.

"Elena." Fowler said, shocked by his daughter's outburst. "No. I'm staying here and that's it. I'm sixteen and I can make my own decisions." she said as she turned to walk towards Miko, Jack and Raf. "Fine! If that's what you want to do, then fine. Go ahead!" Fowler shouted, then stormed off to the elevator and left. "Elena, I don't think you should talk to your father in that manner. He's…" Optimus said. "He's what? Controlling? Strict? Secretive? Bossy? He kept you guys a secret from his own daughter." Elena said sharply, cutting Optimus off. "He keeps secrets from many of your people, for their safety. And yours." he continued. "You're not my dad. You're not even human. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to…walk around." Elena retorted spitefully, then walked off towards the storage hallway. "Where are you going?" Miko asked. "Anywhere I want." Elena snapped as she continued walking. Bumblebee looked at Raf with concerned eyes and said a few whirs and beeps. "You're right Bee. We should go talk to her." Raf replied, then walked in Elena's direction with Bumblebee. "Are all juvenile humans like this?" Arcee said to Jack. "Um, well, sometimes." Jack replied reluctantly.

Elena walked through the large and long hallways of the underground base. She thought about everything that happened: meeting the autobots, entering the base, the fight with her dad. Ugh, it was just so frustrating. She paused for a moment and leaned against the wall. "He just, never listens to me. It's either his way or the highway." she said to herself. "It's hard isn't it?" Elena looked around for the source of the voice. She saw Raf and Bumblebee walk around the corner towards her. "I know how it feels. To be ignored and have people never listen to you." Raf said kindly as he walked over to Elena. Elena looked at Raf with a curious expression. "I have a very large family and I'm ignored a lot. Sometimes when I speak, I know they don't hear me or don't care about what I say." Raf said. "Yeah, same here. Family's a pain." Elena said cynically. "At times, yes. But it's better than being on your own. Even though my family ignores me sometimes they're there for me, at times, but when we're together we're stronger." he continued. Bumblebee added in with a few beeps and whirs. "You're right Bee. Your dad's just worried about you. He wants to protect you, kind of like how Jack's mom is." "You mean sweet, nice and funny?" Elena asked. "Yes, but she's also really protective of Jack and she worries a lot. That's how I think your dad is. He just wants to keep you safe." Raf said consolingly. "Yeah I know, it'd be nice though if he'd trust me a little more." she said. "Why don't you ask him?" Raf asked. "Okay Raf. Thanks." Elena said, "you too Bumblebee." Bumblebee replied with beeps and whirs in a tone that Elena knew was "You're welcome."

Elena went home at night. Jack and Arcee dropped her off at her house, seeing as it was the right next to Jack's house. Elena got off Arcee and walked to the doorway, she turned to Jack and Arcee and waved goodbye before opening the door. Once inside, Elena walked into the living room and saw her dad on the couch. She took a deep breath and sat down next to him. "Dad?" she asked hesitantly. "And what do you need from your dad who doesn't 'believe in you?'" Fowler replied pessimistically. "Sorry about that. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for how I acted and I understand." Elena said calmly. "Understand?" Fowler asked curiously. "I understand that you didn't tell me about the autobots in order to protect me. I just want you to know that I can take care of myself and it would be nice if you could trust me." Elena said sympathetically. "Elena, I do trust you. I just want you to be safe. Sure, I guess I've been a little unsympathetic lately. Making you move away from your friends and to a place you've never been to before, but just know that I do love you. I know it may not seem like it but…" he said. "You do. I know dad. I do too, just trust me a little more." Elena said as she embraced her father in a hug. "Alright." her father replied, as he hugged his daughter back. "So, this means I can hang out with autobots right?" Elena asked, attempting to take advantage of the moment. "Ah. Well, alright. But promise me you won't go on any dangerous missions with them." he asked. "I'll do my best dad." Elena said.

The next morning, Elena was excited. It was Saturday, which meant no school and no wait to hang out with the autobots. She quickly got dressed and ready, then went down into the kitchen to eat breakfast and pack her lunch. After putting her lunch into a plastic Ziploc bag, Elena shoved it in her backpack, along with some horror movies and games, then set it down to tie her shoes. Her father was still sleeping in, so she left notes on the refrigerator door and on her father's dresser explaining she had gone to the autobus base. Elena then called Jack to see if he was going too. Jack picked up the phone, "This is the Darby residence, Jack Darby speaking." "Hey Jack, this is Elena. Are you going to the autobus base today?" she asked. "Um, yeah. I was just about to head there now with Arcee. You need a ride?" he asked. "Yeah. I'll be right over." Elena said, then hung up the phone. She grabbed her backpack, exited her house, then walked over to Jack's house. Jack was waiting on the curb with Arcee, who was in motorcycle form. "Ready to go?" he asked her. "Yep. You have an extra helmet?" Elena asked him. "Yep." he answered as he handed her a second helmet. She quickly put it on and got on Arcee with Jack. "Nice to see you again Arcee." Elena said. "You too kid. Hang on." Arcee responded then started her engine.

When they got to the autobot base, Elena saw that there was a another autobot. Jack and Elena hopped off of Arcee and walked over to everyone. Arcee transformed into her cybertronian form and joined them. Elena looked at the newcomer with curiosity. "Um, who's the new autobot?" She asked Miko as she stood beside her. "That's Wheeljack, Bulkhead's 'other' best friend." Miko replied. The new autobot had a white and grey paint job with some red and green accents, two large samurai swords on his back and what seemed to be a scar on the corner of his mouth. "Hey Wheeljack, meet our new friend Elena." Miko said in a cheery tone. "And who's the new small-fry around here?" Wheeljack said impolitely as he looked at Elena. "Who are you calling a small-fry, you giant paperweight?" Elena retorted in an irritated tone. "Not bad. You've got spirit all right." Wheeljack said in a pleased tone. "I knew you'd two get along. Now Jackie, why don't you tell Elena some of your stories?" Bulkhead said, chiming in like a fan-girl. "Jackie? That can be a girl's name here on Earth." Elena said mockingly. "And what's Elena? It sounds like a fast way of saying 'a lane.'" Wheeljack snapped. "Seriously? Is that all you've got?" Elena said sardonically. "Fine, I believe a story is in order. I was on cybertron, in quadrant seven-fifty-two. I was outnumbered a hundred to one, cons were surrounding me on all sides. All I had were my swords and a single grenade." Wheeljack said. "This is the best part." Bulkhead whispered out loud to Elena. "I was cutting down all the cons that came at me, but there were too many for even me to take on my own. I was backed up against a cliff and the cons kept coming. So I drew them all underneath the cliff, threw the grenade at the cliff, then ran on top of the con's heads. The grenade exploded and caused the entire cliff to collapse, burying the cons underneath it, while I made it out to my ship."

"Amazing right!?" Bulkhead exclaimed. "Yeah, sure." Elena said, unimpressed. "Hey Elena! You still don't have a guardian!" Miko exclaimed. "A guardian?" Elena asked, confusion in her voice. "You know, an autobot that protects you from cons and is your best friend? Like Bulkhead and me, or Raf and Bumblebee, or Jack and Arcee. You're the only one of us who doesn't have a guardian." Miko said. "The only autobots left are Ratchet, Optimus and Wheeljack." Raf added. "Ratchet's too grouchy. No offense." Elena said. "None taken." Ratchet said carelessly, as he continued to work on a device he was building. "Well Optimus is the leader of the autobots, but he's always busy." Raf said. "True…" Elena responded. "That would leave Wheeljack." Jack said. "Wait, me with him? You're serious?" Elena replied sarcastically. "Come on, it'll be awesome!" Miko exclaimed. "Optimus?" Arcee asked. "Well, Wheeljack is the only option…Wheeljack, what are your feelings to being Elena's guardian?" Optimus asked. "Whoa, hold on guys. I can't be held down by a little human. I might break her." Wheeljack replied. "Hey. I'm tougher than I look, wheelie." Elena retorted. "Why you little…" Wheeljack muttered crossly. "Are you saying you can't handle it Jackie?" Bulkhead taunted. "Well no, but…" Wheeljack started. "Is it too tough for Wheeljack, the Wheeljack who's taken down scores of cons?" Arcee added. "Fine! I'll do it. But you better keep up." Wheeljack said, looking crossly at Elena. "No problem. Can you?" Elena replied smugly. "This is going to be a long earth cycle." Wheeljack muttered to himself.


	4. Dancing Shadows

Everyone was watching as Jack and Elena competed against each other in a Dance Dance Revolution video game Miko had brought to the base. The game setting was at it's highest level and both Elena and Jack were evenly matched as they quickly stepped on each arrow on the game pads with extreme speed. Elena looked quickly at Jack, who Elena noticed was getting tired. "You losing steam Jack?" she taunted. "No. I can keep going." Jack replied, a drop of sweat collecting on his brow. "I didn't know humans could be so light on their feet." Wheeljack said to Bulkhead. "Heh. They can surprise you in a lot of ways." Bulkhead replied. The level finally ended on the game and Jack and Elena stopped and took a few quick breaths. The final scores popped onto the screen. "26,546 points" appeared for Jack. "Hah! In your face!" Jack boasted while looking smugly at Elena. Elena rolled her eyes at Jack and waited for her score to appear on the screen. "45,978 points" appeared for Elena. "What was that? Oh yeah, I believe the expression was, IN YOUR FACE!" Elena retorted proudly as she quickly did a little victory dance. "Better luck next time Jack." Raf said consolingly to Jack. "I guess your right. Good game Elena." Jack said. "You too." Elena replied. "So what do you guys want to do next?" Miko asked. "I'm not sure." Elena replied. "Hey! I brought a few Horror movies to watch, anyone feel up to being scared?" Elena said as she dug through her backpack. "Wreckers don't get scared. Do they Bulkhead?" Wheeljack scoffed. "Uh, no they sure don't." Bulkhead replied. "You sure about that Bulk? What about the time when the scraplets were in the base and you and

I went looking for them? When the lights went out suddenly and you screamed like a little-" Miko started then was interrupted by Bulkhead. "Miko! That was not what happened." "Whatever you say Bulkhead…" Miko said to herself then walked away.

"Did that really happen?" Elena asked Miko as she neared her. "Yep, but Bulkhead won't admit it because he really was scared. You really should have been there, it was hilarious!" Miko replied. "Then how about we reenact what happened." Elena said smugly. "What do you mean?" Miko asked. "What should we do about the scraplets that snuck into the base?" Elena said deviously. "What scraplets!? Oh…I see what you mean." Miko replied, realizing Elena's scheme by her devious smile. "First things first. Where can we get a fake scraplet?" Elena asked Miko. "No problem. There are a few dead ones in the back storage room that we can use." Miko replied. "Perfect. This is going to be awesome. Quick, let's head to the back, get the scraplet and continue planning our little prank." Elena said cunningly as she and Miko snuck off to the back storage room. About a half an hour later the prank was ready to go and set in motion. Elena casually picked a horror movie from her backpack and put it in the DVD player. Soon everyone was gathered around the TV and watching, "Don't be afraid of the dark." Elena dimmed the lights and quickly hopped onto the couch with Miko, where they quickly exchanged devilish smirks. In the movie, the little girl was walking towards a sound she heard in an old stove grate. "Don't go in there. They're in there." Bulkhead said nervously to himself. "Calm down Bulkhead, it's just on the screen, we're fine." Wheeljack said calmly, as he tried to calm down Bulkhead. Then on the screen, a hoard of terrifying little creatures burst out of the grate and began running all around. "I told her!" Bulkhead shouted. "Seriously Bulkhead calm down." Wheeljack said.

Elena quickly looked at Miko, "Now." she whispered to Miko. Miko quickly got up and walked out of everyone's sight. "Where do you think she's going?" Raf asked. "Eh, bathroom maybe?" Jack said. "Okay everyone, intermission." Elena said as she hit the pause button on the remote. Elena walked up to Bulkhead, "You doing alright Bulkhead? You seem a little scared." "Me? Scared? Ha! No way." Bulkhead scoffed. "Okay, but don't we have a grate in the back room somewhere?" she asked. "A what?" Bulkhead asked. "A grate, like the one in the movie. I was back there before and was sure I saw one. There was a creepy noise too, like something was in there…" Elena said then walked off, leaving Bulkhead to his imagination. After intermission, everyone returned to watching the movie. "Hey, where's Miko?" Raf asked. "She's still in the bathroom I think." Elena lied. Just then a scratching sound, like little feet scampering was made behind Bulkhead. "Did you hear that?" Bulkhead asked nervously. "Hear what?" Elena replied. The scampering sounds were made again, causing Bulkhead to flinch. "That!" he said in a panicked tone. "What did it sound like?" Raf asked. "Like…Like little creatures running all about!" Bulkhead replied fearfully.

"It's only a movie Bulkhead, it's not real." Raf said calmly. "Are you scared?" Elena asked smugly. "N-no. Of course not. It's just a movie it's not real at all. Yeah, like they're actual tiny monsters running around base." Bulkhead joked uncertainly. "Yeah you're right, but you never know?" Elena teased. "Know what?" Bulkhead asked. "If they could be real. And if so, when they could strike!" Elena said. Suddenly, three dead husks of scraplets attached to strings fell from the roof and clung to Bulkhead. "Aaaaaaah! Get them off! Get them off!" Bulkhead screamed as he panicked and flailed about. Elena burst out into laughter as Bulkhead freaked out. "Bulkhead would you stay still!? They're not doing anything, they're offline!" Ratchet shouted. "Aaah! Wait what?" Bulkhead asked finally calming down. Ratchet walked over to Bulkhead and grabbed the strings that were attached to the scraplets and pulled them off. "Oh." Bulkhead said as he Ratchet showed him the offline scraplets. Everyone's eyes fell upon Elena who was still laughing. Then they heard a second set of laughter. They looked and saw Miko up on the railing laughing her head off. "Miko." Bulkhead said sternly. "Oh my gosh Bulk! Did you see your face!" Miko shouted then returned to laughing. "Or hear yourself! Get it off! Get it off!" Elena joined in then began laughing again.

"It wasn't funny guys!" Bulkhead retorted. "I don't know Bulkhead, that was pretty entertaining to watch. I don't think I've ever heard you scream before." Wheeljack added. "So this was a prank?" Raf asked. "Uh-uh. Best prank I've ever pulled off." Elena said. "You mean best prank we've ever pulled off?" Miko said as she walked back over to the couch. "Of course." Elena said. "That was awesome you two. Best prank I've ever seen." Jack said. "Thanks." Miko and Elena said in unison. After Miko and Elena's prank was over, everyone finished watching the movie. Throughout the night they continued to watch more horror flicks, like "Insidious," "Hide and Seek," and "One Missed Call." Eventually, Jack, Miko, Raf and Elena fell asleep. Ratchet turned the TV off and returned to his workshop, while Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead went to take their status sleep, leaving Optimus and Wheeljack by themselves. Wheeljack looked at Elena, "She's pretty clever, for a human." "Yes, you are feeling less apprehensive about being her guardian?" Optimus said. "I guess so. Being her guardian might not be that bad after all." Wheeljack said contemplatively.

The next morning Elena awoke to the sound of thudding. She groggily sat upright and was surprised to see a giant ball of metal being tossed back and forth by Bulkhead and Wheeljack. "What the-" Elena said as she watched the spectacle in front of her. She rubbed her eyes and saw that everyone else was already awake. Elena looked at her watch and saw that it was "12:04." "Wow I slept in late." she said, then got up and walked over to Jack, Miko and Raf, who were watching the game from the sidelines. "What are they doing?" she asked them. "Lobbing. It's a Cybertronian game." Raf replied. "Isn't that just a fancy word for catch?" Elena asked. "I guess so." Raf replied as he continued to watch Wheeljack and Bulkhead 'lob'. "Well then, I'll just go and get changed." Elena said then walked back to the couch to grab her extra change of clothes. She had to momentarily step in-between the area where Wheeljack and Bulkhead were lobbing. "Watch out!" she heard Wheeljack shout. She turned her head to see the giant ball of metal coming straight for her. She prepared for the impact of the metal ball but was suddenly knocked on her side and out of the path of the ball. She looked up to see Jack on top of her. They're eyes met briefly then he quickly got off and helped her onto her feet. "You okay?" he asked her. "Yeah, thanks to you." Elena said. "No problem." Jack replied.

"What happened?" Arcee said, running into the room, hearing the commotion. "Jack saved Elena from being crushed by the lobbing ball the Wheeljack and Bulkhead were using." Raf said. "Crushed?" Arcee said, then glared at Wheeljack. "Hey, she shouldn't have gotten in the way. It's not my fault she walked in-between us." Wheeljack retorted. "Not your fault!? Elena almost got killed by the ball you just threw and all you can say is, it's not your fault?" Jack snapped. "Hey just because I threw it doesn't mean I meant to almost kill her. It was an accident that's all, she didn't get hurt." Wheeljack said. "But she almost did get hurt, killed almost. It's your job as her guardian to protect her." Jack snapped at Wheeljack. "Well yeah. I'm her guardian and I'll protect her my way. If you're so worried why don't you become her guardian?" Wheeljack retorted. "Whoa." Miko said to Raf. "Hey guys, why don't we all just chill. I'm alright and the crisis is over. Let's all get back to what we were doing and forget this ever happened, okay?" Elena said, trying to sound as positive as possible. "Fine." Wheeljack and Jack said in unison, then went in separate directions. "Intense." Miko said. "Yeah." Elena said, then went to the bathroom to get changed.

Elena changed from her pajamas into a simple dark purple tank top and dark blue jeans. She bushed her hair and teeth, then walked back into the main room of the base. Everyone was back into their routines, Ratchet was working on a device, Arcee was leaning on a back wall watching Bumblebee, Jack, Raf, and Miko play video games. Elena didn't see Bulkhead, Optimus or Wheejack. She walked over to Arcee to ask, "Hey Arcee, where are Bulkhead, Optimus and Wheeljack?" "Optimus is out on patrol, Wheeljack is back at his making repairs to his ship, and Bulkhead's out on a mission." Arcee replied. "Oh. Thanks Arcee." Elena said. "Anytime kid." Arcee replied. Elena went over to join Bumblebee, Jack, Raf and Miko, who were playing a race car video game. At the video game controls were Raf and Bumblebee. Bumblebee was gaining on Raf's car. "Not going to let you pass me this time Bee." Raf said as he concentrated on staying in the lead. "Beeeeep whirr beep" Bumblebee responded. "You can try Bee." Raf said. Bumblebee's car tried to take the lead but Raf hit his bumper and caused his car to spin out, winning Raf the race. "Yes!" Raf shouted in triumph, "Better luck next time Bee." Bumblebee responded with beeps and whirs in a "It's okay" tone. "Nice game guys." Elena said. Suddenly the ground bridge opened. "Guess Bulkhead's back already." Elena heard Arcee say. Suddenly Bulkhead was thrown through the ground bridge and collapsed on the ground, with a large blaster burn on his back. "Oh my god." Elena said in shock.


	5. The First Misadventure

This chapter is based off of the episode, "Hurt" from season 2 of Transformers Prime. NOTE: I do not own anything of Transformers Prime, I'm just using the episode as an outline.

As Bulkhead's unconscious body lay on the ground of the base, Elena was overcome with shock and horror. "No…" Ratchet exclaimed in shock. "Who could have done this?" "Elena asked, her voice quivering with shock. Ratchet immediately ran into the Medical Bay and came back holding two giant defibrillators. "Bulkhead respond! Respond!" he shouted, as he placed the defibrillators on top of Bulkhead's chest and continued to shock him. "I need help getting Bulkhead into the Medical Bay. Bumblebee, Arcee, I need your assistance, now!" Ratchet exclaimed in a panicked tone. Bumblebee and Arcee raced over to Bulkhead, and assisted Ratchet in taking Bulkhead to the Medical Bay. "Bulkhead!" Miko exclaimed, "Is he going be okay?" she said, looking to Elena. Elena was shocked at Bulkhead's horrific injuries, but she knew that she needed to be strong and comfort Miko. "I'm don't know Miko, but Ratchet will do all he can." Elena replied, placing a comforting hand on Miko's shoulder as she spoke. Miko grabbed Elena's hand, then placed her head against Elena's shoulder, stifling a few sniffles and tears as she did so.

Hours passed by, and everyone in the base were as quiet and stiff and statues. Suddenly, the sound of metal feet, caused everyone to quickly look up. Ratchet entered the room solemnly, causing everyone to be on edge. "Is Bulkhead alright?" Arcee asked. Ratchet sighed, "If the Allspark wills it.. If Bulkhead does come through, I'm afraid that due to his extensive injuries, I fear that Bulkhead will not regain full control of his systems…" he replied solemnly." Miko looked at Ratchet sorrowfully, then ran to the Medical Bay full speed. "Miko!" Elena exclaimed, before quickly running after Miko. Once Elena caught up to Miko, she found her by the operating table, in which Bulkhead laid on top of. Miko began to cry a little, and when Elena placed her hand on her back, Miko shrugged it off, then ran out of the room. Elena sighed as she watched Miko leave, then looked up at Bulkhead, who was in critical condition. Elena heard Miko shout, then exit through the elevator doors. Suddenly Elena heard an engine revving, and wheels screeching on top of pavement. She looked towards the tunnel entrance of the base, and watched as Wheeljack drove into the main room in his vehicle mode. "What's the damage doc?" Wheeljack asked. "Bulkhead has suffered a complete systems failure. I can only hope he'll make it." Ratchet said, who returned a dismayed glance. "You do that." Wheeljack replied, Elena looked at Wheeljack as he walked by her. "Wheeljack, where do you think you're going?" she asked dubiously. "To find the con that did this to Bulkhead." he replied. "You can't just leave. I mean, without me of course." Elena replied. "Sorry, sport. But I can't put you in the line of fire." Wheeljack said bluntly, then transformed into his vehicle mode and drove through the tunnel to exit the base. Elena sighed as Wheeljack left the base. Things certainly weren't going to be very chipper around base for a while. Elena looked back at the corner where Miko was sitting, only to find that she wasn't there. Concerned for Miko's well-being, and curious of her whereabouts; Elena, not wanting to scour the entirety of the base, sent a text to Miko's cell phone asking where she was. About a minute later, Elena received a reply. "Doesn't matter, you can't stop me." the text from Miko read. "Scrap." she said to herself, realizing where and what Miko was up to. Elena looked at the computer, and then at Raf, who was sitting down on the couch glumly.

Elena quickly dashed over to Raf, stopping right at the couch. "Raf." she said. "Yes, Elena?" Raf replied, turning around to face her. "Can you look up Wheeljack's ship's location in the autobot computer?" she asked. "Well yes. Wait, why?" he asked curiously. "Because I think Miko's gone after Wheeljack." she replied. "She's not here? Are you sure?" Raf asked. "Yeah. I texted her, and she replied with, 'don't try to stop me.'" she replied worriedly. "That's not good." Raf replied, "I'll do it." Within a few minutes, Raf had accessed the autobots' computer database and located the location of Wheeljack's ship. "You think you can get me there quickly?" Elena asked. "I could ask one of the autobots to drive you.." Raf said. "No time. I need to get to her now. And possibly stop Wheeljack from going on a revenge-driven hunt." Elena explained quickly. "Well, there is one way." Raf said. "What?" Elena asked curiously. "You could go through the ground bridge. It'll get you there faster than if you flew there." he replied. "Okay.. How do we use it?" she asked. "Easy. I'll just open it via the autobots' computer mainframe and set the coordinates. Shouldn't we tell the autobots about this?" Raf asked hesitantly. "It's not like I'm endangering myself, I'm just going to talk some sense into Wheeljack and Miko. And come on, all of the autobots are in the Medical Bay with Bulkhead, this is my only chance." Elena pleaded. Raf sighed, "All right. But if they find out, it was your idea." Raf replied. "Deal." Elena replied as she ran over to the ground bridge entrance. She turned to Raf and gave him the thumbs up to activate it. Raf nodded, and with a few swift clicks on his keyboard, the ground bridge opened in a spectacular portal of green light.

Elena looked at Raf, who gave her the thumbs up to step through. Elena couldn't move, the unknown possibilities of what could happen after stepping through this portal were intimidating. She couldn't move. Suddenly, she heard the sound of Arcee and Optimus talking, and she knew she had to go now. Elena took a deep breath and mustered all the courage she had, then ran through the ground bridge portal. After Raf saw that Elena was gone, he quickly closed the ground bridge. The ground bridge closed just in time, as the autobots entered the room and looked around. "Rafael, where is Elena?" Optimus asked. "Oh, she uh, she decided to go home. She managed to catch a ride with Wheeljack." Raf replied hesitantly. "I thought Wheeljack left to find the Decepticon responsible for Bulkhead's condition?" Optimus asked in bewilderment. "Well, he said that he'd take Elena home first." Raf responded quickly. "Hmm…" was the only reply Optimus gave.

Elena had practically closed her eyes the entire run through the ground bridge. Once the glare of the green light around her disappeared, she stopped running and opened them slowly to see herself next to a large desert mesa. She could hardly believe that she had just been transported to another location instantly. But her feelings of astonishment and wonder would have to wait. She had to find Miko, and convince Wheeljack that this was a stupid idea. "Like he'd listen anyways." she said to herself. Elena searched around the large mesa, until she turned a corner to find a large metal spaceship capable of holding about two or three autobots. Elena quickly dashed over to the ship and stopped underneath it. As she was under the ship, she backed up and bumped into something. She turned around to come face to face with Miko. "Miko!" Elena exclaimed. "Shh! He's gonna be here soon." Miko replied. "Wheeljack?" Elena asked. "No, the Easter Bunny. Of course Wheeljack. Why are you here anyways?" Miko replied sardonically. "To stop you and Wheeljack from going on a suicide mission!" Elena whispered sharply. "What does it matter to you?!" Miko replied with an angry whisper. "I don't want you to get yourselves killed, that's what!" Elena replied. Miko began to open her mouth, but stayed quiet as Wheeljack drove up to the ship. Miko placed her hand over Elena's mouth to keep her quiet.

Wheeljack transformed into his robot form and walked to the ship. He hit a button on the ship's side, causing the bay door to open and walked inside. "See ya." Miko exclaimed as she ran out from under the ship and ran snuck inside Wheeljack's ship. Elena was filled with frustration, but she had a limited window of time to get on the ship or be left here. Elena groaned in anger, then quickly dashed inside the ship just before the hatch closed behind her. Elena hid behind a barrel of what she assumed was fuel for the ship, and noticed Miko just feet from her. "Miko. Miko." she whispered. "Be quiet, dude, you'll blow my cover." she retorted. "First off, I'm not a dude, second, this is crazy." Elena replied. "Why are you following me?" Miko asked. "Because if I can't stop you, I might as well go with you to make sure you don't do anything stupid." she replied. "I'm not going to do anything stupid!" Miko said angrily, waving her hand as she said so. Her hand accidentally hit the side of one of the barrels of fuel, making a slight banging sound.

Wheeljack heard a bang coming from the back of his ship. A stowaway, he thought. Whether it was a Decepticon or not, he wasn't sure of, so he set the ship to automatic pilot and stepped out of the pilot's seat. Wheeljack activated his blasters and cautiously walked down the hallway of his ship to the back. Once he began to pass the barrels of fuel, he turned around at the last of the barrels, and found his blaster drawn and aimed at Miko. "Miko? What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion. "Don't you mean 'what are we' doing here?'" she replied, her arm extended and her hand pointing behind Wheeljack. Wheeljack turned around to see Elena standing behind him. "Are you two nuts?" he asked. "Well you two are." Elena replied, "Going out for revenge? Seems nuts to me." Wheeljack looked at Miko. "So that's why you're hear. Well, I'm going to call Ratchet and locate a suitable spot to bridge you both back to base." Wheeljack said casually, as he walked over to the pilot's seat in the ship. "Wheeljack, please don't call Ratchet and bust me." Miko pleaded. "Oh yeah, and what would make me stop?" he asked haughtily. "I know who hurt Bulkhead." Miko replied, "The Insecticon, Hardshell." Wheeljack paused and looked at Miko solemnly. "Alright. You can stay." Wheeljack replied. "Seriously? So you two are really going to go through with this?" Elena asked. "Yep, and you can either be on board with our plan, or I can land this thing and drop you off. What's it gonna be?" he asked. Elena paused for a moment, thinking her options through and of Bulkhead. "Fine. I'm in." she said. "Good, cause we're going to make some noise to get old Megatron's attention." Wheeljack said.

Within a half an hour, Wheeljack flew the ship near a large cavern in a quarry. He then landed the ship a few hundred feet from the cave, and positioned the ship behind a rock for cover. "Alright ladies, we've arrived." Wheeljack said casually. "Where are we exactly?" Elena inquired. "At one of Megatron's Energon mining quarries." he replied. "Why would come here?" Miko asked. "To blow it up. That should get Megatron's attention. Don't you think?" Wheeljack replied. "And how are we going to pull that off?" Elena asked condescendingly. "Well first, one of you is going to have to scout the interior and see how many cons I'll be up against. Then after I have that info, I'll come in and scrap every one of those cons." Wheeljack said. "Are you insane?" Elena asked sarcastically. "Maybe a little. So, either one of up to sneak into the belly of the beast?" he asked. "I'll do it." Miko said. "Miko, are you insane? You could die in there?!" Elena asked, her voice quivering with shock. "So what? If it helps me get the scrap-eating con that hurt Bulkhead, so be it." she replied stubbornly. "That's the spirit." Wheeljack said. Upon hearing Wheeljack's encouragement of the action, Elena snapped her head towards him and gave him an angry look. Wheeljack moved back slightly in surprise, but soon ignored Elena. "Alright then, let's get going." he said before hitting a button, which opened the hatch door.

Miko took a deep breath, then walked out of the door. Elena watched from the windshield, as Miko snuck past the surrounding Decepticons and into the cavern. "Okay genius, how is she going to tell us about the number of cons in there?" Elena asked condescendingly, placing her hands on her hips. All of a sudden the com-link on Wheeljack's ship rang, and a screen showing a live video feed of the mines appeared in the windshield. "You in yet?" Wheeljack asked casually. "Yep, and I see…five or six Decepticons on the main floor, and two more watching over things from the second." Miko said, the video showing multiple Decepticons walking around the mines. Suddenly she gasped, "There's another chamber." The video screen showed a smaller tunnel filled with glowing blue blocks, which Elena assumed to be Energon. "Nice work kid." Wheeljack said, before hopping out of his seat and ending the transmission. "Well sport, It's time for me to go in there and kick some con can." he said as he turned to face Elena. As he turned, Elena was no longer at the windshield. "Sport?" he asked in confusion, looking around for Elena. "Elena?" he asked again as he noticed that the hatch door was still open. "Scrap." he said, before running out of the ship, swords drawn, into the mines.

Elena cautiously walked through the mines, keeping close to rocks for cover. She had to find Miko and get her out of here. "I swear, when I get out of here, I'm going to give Wheeljack the longest lecture he's ever had." she whispered to herself. As she turned a corner, a Decepticons passed by. Elena quickly hid behind the pile of rocks she was next to and stayed as still as she could. The Decepticon, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, continued upon its chosen path of travel and walked past Elena's hiding place. Elena exhaled deeply, then continued looking for Miko. She spotted Miko just across from her, about fifty, sixty feet away, she estimated. "Miko. Miko." she shouted quietly. Miko either didn't hear Elena or didn't want to respond. Elena grunted in frustration, "Miko." she said angrily. A large crashing sound suddenly filled the cavern, and Elena saw two Decepticons sail through the air before crashing into a cavern wall. Elena looked to see Wheeljack run into the cavern with his swords drawn, tackling and slicing through any Decepticon he neared. Elena's eyes quickly darted towards Miko, who remained hidden behind a pile of rocks. All of a sudden, Wheeljack cut a Decepticon's head off with a swipe of one of his swords, and kicked it away. The Decepticon's lifeless corpse, was knocked in Miko's direction and crashed into her pile of rocks, missing her by inches. "Miko!" Elena shouted. Elena bolted from her hiding spot, and ran towards Miko, who was running around trying to avoid the chaos. Wheeljack was now on the second level of the cavern, and he was taking out the Decepticons on that level.

Miko ran into the glowing blue maze of Energon for cover. Elena looked up to see a dead Decepticon falling right at the spot where Miko was hiding in the maze. Elena ran as fast as she could towards Miko, and tackled her out of the way of the falling Decepticon, as multiple blocks of Energon fell around them. Elena got off of Miko and helped her to her feet. "Are you alright?!" she asked, her breathing labored. "Yeah, thanks to you." Miko replied. Elena and Miko heard stomping behind them and turned around, expecting to see a Decepticon. Luckily for them, it turned out to be Wheeljack. "Nice job, now let's give Megatron a shout." Wheeljack said as he turned to walk back to the ship. "What the frag was that?! Miko almost died because of you!" Elena shouted angrily. "Whoa there, sport. Everything's cool now." he replied. "Cool? Cool?!" Elena shouted, "We almost died! You couldn't of called Miko back to the ship before you scrapped every con in sight?! With us in the line of fire? What kind of guardian are you?!" she shouted. Wheeljack just stood there in silence. He couldn't believe the anger in Elena's voice and her words. "I guess it's time to go back to the ship then." Wheeljack replied, then began walking out of the mines. Elena looked at Miko, who simply looked down.

After everyone boarded the ship, Wheeljack "dialed" the Megatron's warship. A holographic screen appeared on the windshield in front of Wheeljack, showing an image of a vocal bar, showing the recipient's pattern of speech and loudness. "This is the Nemesis, identify yourself." a voice, a Decepticon grunt most likely, asked. "I'll speak to Megatron, and only Megatron." Wheeljack demanded. The line on the other side was silent for a few moments, before another voice spoke. "Who are you, and what do you want?" a gruff and strong voice, whom Elena figured was Megatron, demanded. "This is Wheeljack speaking Megs." Wheeljack replied. "Wheeljack. The one who enjoys explosive devices." Megatron replied. "I want to invite Hardshell to a little showdown to settle a score. I'm sending you the coordinates as we speak, hope your little insect is brave enough to show up, alone." Wheeljack replied, "And just in case you've ever wondered what three tons of exploding Energon sounds like." Wheeljack hit the missile launch button, sending two missiles into the Energon mine, blowing it sky high. He then ended the transmission.

Minutes later, Wheeljack, Elena, and Miko arrived at their destination, which was below a large mesa. Wheeljack stood up and headed for the hatch. "If the fight turns ugly and things look bad, hit the blue button on the steering consol, and the ship will automatically take you back to base." Wheeljack said, pointing to a blue button on the steering consol. Elena looked up at Wheeljack fearfully, but didn't say a thing. Wheeljack walked out of the door, and Elena watched as the hatch door closed. The second Wheeljack was out of Elena's sight, she immediately ran towards the windshield of the ship and saw him walking towards the mesa. Please kick his tailpipe, Elena thought. Miko looked at Elena, and recognized her outlook on the situation. She knew what it was like to almost lose her best friend, and she knew Elena was surely afraid she would lose hers. Miko took a deep breath and walked over to Elena, climbing onto the dashboard of the ship. "I'm sure he'll be okay, Elena. Wheeljack's faced worse before." Miko said. "I hope you're right. Because the last thing I did was yell at him." Elena said.

Wheeljack transformed into his vehicle mode and drove towards the large mesa, in which a large cave was cut into its side. He stopped just outside of the cave. "You in there bug?!" he shouted. As Elena watched Wheeljack, she saw something big move on top of the mesa. She looked closer and saw it was a giant bug-like robot. "Oh no.." she said to herself, "Wheeljack! Look out!" Wheeljack dodged Hardshell's charge-attack, and sliced Hardshell's armor with one of his twin swords. Hardshell shrugged the injury off and swung his large clawed hand at Wheeljack. Wheeljack managed to evade Hardshell's blow, and kicked him in the face with his foot. The blow knocked Hardshell back a few steps, but he recovered and brought his claws down on Wheeljack, who parried with his twin swords; holding Hardshell's claws above him. "What's the matter con, never fight a Wrecker when he hasn't been exposed to Tox-En?" Wheeljack taunted. "Talk during battle is a sign of weakness." Hardshell replied. Wheeljack scoffed, "Only when you're too primitive to do two things at once."

Elena watched impatiently as Wheeljack battled against Hardshell. The fight seemed to be evenly matched, until Hardshell managed to knock Wheeljack's swords away. Elena gasped as Hardshell transformed into a large insect and slammed into Wheeljack, sending him up into the air and then crashing into the ground. Hardshell transformed back into his robot form, grabbed Wheeljack and began slamming him against the ground. Elena gasped again, as Wheeljack was slammed against the ground again and again. "Wheeljack!" she shouted as she pounded her fists against the windshield. Wheeljack looked up weakly at the ship, and opened the com-link to the ship. "Get out of here.." Wheeljack said weakly. Elena and Miko froze as Hardshell picked Wheeljack up threw him against the ground. "Your spark will now belong to Megatron!" Hardshell shouted in victory as he raised one of his clawed hands to deal the final blow.

Elena couldn't bear the sight of Wheeljack's end, and quickly turned to Miko. "There has to be something we can do!" she exclaimed. "I'm thinking!" Miko retorted, "Wait!" Miko exclaimed, before jumping over to the steering consol. She looked at a bright red button on the other side of the blue button, which would activate the autopilot. "Can you fly a spaceship?" Miko asked Elena. "Well, not exactly, but my dad did teach me how to pilot a helicopter for my fourteenth birthday." Elena replied. "Seriously? Your dad let you fly a helicopter for your fourteenth birthday? My parents sent me here for my fourteenth birthday!" Miko replied, "Never mind, let's fly this ship!" Elena nodded, then hopped into the pilot seat and quickly familiarized herself with the control equipment. "Hurry!" Miko shouted nervously. "I'm trying!" Elena shouted back. "Control switch, where's the control switch." she said to herself. "Miko! I need you over here!" Elena shouted. "What?" Miko asked. "I need you to hit the red button when I tell you to okay? I'm going to push down on the steering consol and get this ship just off the ground enough for the missiles to travel better. Okay?" Elena explained. "Let's do it." Miko replied.

Elena quickly climbed on top of the steering consol and sat down right above it, placing her legs on the steering consol. She pushed as hard as she could, using every ounce of strength she could to move it. The ship shook, then began to hover off of the ground. "Keep going!" Miko shouted. Elena pushed harder and harder. "Are we high enough yet?" Elena asked, her voice strained through her work. Miko looked out the window. They were about a hundred feet off of the ground, and Miko could see Hardshell in the missiles' scope. "Yep." she replied. "Is the bug in the scope?" Elena asked. "Uh-huh." Miko replied. "Hit the red button now!" Elena shouted. Miko took a deep breath, looked at the red button and Hardshell, then pressed her left hand to the button. Immediately after Miko's touch, two missiles launched from the ship and sailed through the air towards the Insecticon. Seeing the missiles, Hardshell took two steps back to try to escape, but he was too slow. The missiles hit their target, sending Hardshell reeling back, and scattering chunks of his armor everywhere. "Did we get it?" Elena asked. "Yeah.. We got him." Miko replied.

Wheeljack stood up weakly and watched as his ship slowly landed back on the ground. Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound came from behind. Wheeljack turned to see an armada of Insecticons flying towards him. Elena and Miko couldn't believe their eyes at the sight of all the Insecticons. "Hurry!" they shouted in unison, as Wheeljack limped towards the ship. "Open the hatch!" Miko shouted. Elena hopped down from the steering consol and hit the button that opened the hatch. Wheeljack slowly limped into the ship and hurried into the pilot seat. "I thought I told you to hit autopilot." Wheeljack said as he closed the hatch. "Bad things happen to bots when I leave their side." Miko replied somberly.

Wheeljack started up the ship and took off. The entire armada of Insecticons followed behind the ship closely, firing laser bolt after laser bolt. Wheeljack barely managed to steer the ship out of the line of fire. "I can't shake them!" he said anxiously. "What are we going to do?!" Elena asked. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Wheeljack said, setting the ship to autopilot and leaving the seat. Wheeljack walked over to the back of the ship and grabbed a case full of grenades. "I thought.." Miko said. "I only carry one at a time." Wheeljack replied. "Wheeljack! We're in the direct line of fire! The autopilot can't dodge!" Elena shouted from the steering consol. "Trust me, we'll be fine. The ship can fly itself." Wheeljack replied as he opened the top hatch and climbed onto the top of the ship with the grenades. "'The ship can itself.' Yeah right! Elena shouted before hopping in the pilot seat. As Wheeljack stood on top of the ship with Miko, he grabbed a grenade to throw, but paused. "What are you waiting for?!" Miko shouted.

Elena looked out the rear view mirror of the ship. She was both surprised and glad that Cybertronian vehicles weren't too different from Earth vehicles. Through the rear view mirror, Elena saw a rain of Insecticon fire coming at the ship. "Down we go!" she shouted as she pushed the steering consol up with her legs. Much to Wheeljack and Miko's surprise, the ship suddenly dipped downwards, causing Miko to hang onto a metal bar for dear life. When the ship leveled out again, Wheeljack looked down into the cockpit. "What the frag are you doing?!" he shouted. "Keeping us alive!" Elena replied. "I'd better end this quick." he said. "You think?! I almost flew off this thing!" Miko shouted, still hanging onto the metal bar with all of her strength. "Hang on!" Elena shouted, as she pushed the steering consol to the right to avoid another blast from the Insecticons. Wheeljack grabbed the entire box of grenades and threw it into the swarm of Insecticons. Once it was in deep enough, he shot a cannon blast at it, blowing the entire swarm of Insecticons out of the sky.

Wheeljack and Miko returned to the cockpit of the ship, where Elena quickly got out of the pilot seat and stood on the ground. Wheeljack sat down in the pilot seat and grabbed the steering consol. "Welcome to the Wreckers ladies! You two did Bulkhead proud!" he said cheerfully. "Then why don't I feel any different." Miko replied somberly, before sitting down against a wall. Wheeljack looked at Miko with a surprised countenance, then looked at Elena, who simply sighed and turned away.

After an hour or two of flying, Wheeljack, Miko, and Elena returned to the Autobots' base. Everyone in the base was surprised, as Wheeljack, Elena, and Miko slowly and solemnly walked in the main room. Arcee immediately rushed over to Miko and Elena. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "They're fine. Both naturals at this stuff." Wheeljack replied coolly. Miko looked up at Ratchet. "Will Bulkhead be okay?" she asked anxiously. "Bulkhead will survive, but he may never be fully functional again." Ratchet replied in a grave tone. Miko's eyes began to water, then she ran into the back to see Bulkhead. "It is unwise to-" Ratchet began, but was silenced by Optimus placing his hand on his shoulder. "Let her go." he said. "I better get going, I don't want to see Bulkhead. At least, not like this." Wheeljack said, then exited the base. Elena walked over to the couch, where Jack and Raf were sitting, and grabbed her backpack. "Where are you going?" Jack asked. "Home. And since my 'guardian' has already left for repairs, I'm in need of a ride." Elena replied. "Okay, Arcee and I will give you a ride." he replied. "No." Arcee said as she placed her right hand gently on Jack's shoulder, "I'll give her a ride." Jack's eyes met Arcee's and he knew what she had in mind, and nodded. Arcee transformed into her vehicle mode. "You ready?" she asked. Elena remained silent, and tightened her backpack as she climbed onto Arcee in her motorcycle form. She grabbed the helmet from its consol and placed it on her head, then grasped the handles. "Ready." Elena said. Arcee revved her engine, then drove through the tunnel and out of the base.


	6. First Day on The Job

This episode based on the episode, "New Recruit" from season 2 of Transformers Prime. NOTE: I do NOT own ANYTHING of Transformers Prime, I'm just using the episode as an outline.

As Elena rode Arcee through the desolate roads of Jasper, Elena had to keep calming herself down after her madcap excursion with Wheeljack and Miko. On her third day of knowing the Autobots, she had already piloted an alien spacecraft, gone on a suicide mission, and aided in the death of a Decepticon. She had to admit that was a bit much for one day, but that wasn't what truly bothered her. Among the chaotic adventures of the Autobots, which thrilled her more rather than terrified her, it was Wheeljack's recklessness and seemingly lack of concern for her that was upsetting. "So kid, how was your first crazy adventure with an Autobot?" Arcee asked sarcastically. "Do I really need to explain how it went?" Elena replied. "I guess not." Arcee replied, "Do you want to talk about it?" Elena looked down at Arcee. "I suppose." she said. "Okay then, how did you feel about running blindly into a dangerous situation?" Arcee asked. Elena paused as she tried to remember her feelings during the mission. "Scared.. Confused.. Worried as hell." she replied, "And upset that Wheeljack, my guardian, would let Miko and I go on such a crazy mission with him. I'm not sure if he's concerned for others' well-being.. Or for mine." "did he put you in the line of fire?" Arcee asked. "What?" Elena asked. "Did Wheeljack put you in the direct line of fire?" Arcee said, repeating her question. "Well he didn't put _me _in the line of fire. But he did send Miko inside the Decepticon mine to scout." Elena replied thoughtfully. Arcee sighed. "Of course he did. And of course, Miko agreed." "Yeah." Elena said, "Then I followed Miko to try to get her out of there. And we were almost crushed multiple times."

"That's how most of the missions go when humans run around Decepticon mines." Arcee replied. Elena smiled a little at Arcee's witty remark. "Why do you ask? About Wheeljack putting me in the line of fire?" Elena asked suspiciously. "Well, Wheeljack didn't let you go into the mines right? You snuck in there?" Arcee asked. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Elena asked. "I'm saying that Wheeljack didn't put you in harm's way the way he did with Miko, though she was probably all-too-happy to go. So, Wheeljack must care about you. Otherwise he'd of let you go with Miko." Arcee said. Elena was silent, she had never thought about it that way before. "I guess you're right, Arcee. After I went in, Wheeljack came in and tore through those Decepticons like scissors through paper." she replied. "Feeling better now?" Arcee asked. "Yeah, thanks Arcee." Elena replied. Later, Arcee dropped Elena off at her house, then left to return to base. Elena opened the door to her house with her spare key, then promptly marched up to her room and collapsed onto her bed.

Hours later, Elena was downstairs in the living room, where she was sitting on the couch watching "_Doctor Who" _while she ate "Cookies and Cream" ice cream. As she began to watch the second season, Elena began to think that The Doctor and Wheeljack were sort of similar in personality. They were both crazy, they didn't think much of big battles or impossible situations, and they both always seemed to have an optimistic outlook on things, and they both only showed up when they wanted too… Elena's thoughts on the subject were scattered as she heard the front door click open. "I'm home!" Elena's father called out as he walked into the house, before closing the door behind him. Elena turned around to see her father. "Hey dad. How was work today? See any cons?" she asked. "Work was fine. And for once, no, I did not see a single Decepticon. Thank God for that." Elena's father replied cheerfully. "And what did you do today?" he asked. Elena paused. She had forgotten about today! Since her father showed no sign of anger, Elena assumed that he hadn't been filled in by the Autobots about today's excursion. "Nothing much. Just hung out with the Autobots at their base. Nothing happened, so Jack, Miko, Raf, and I just played video games and watched TV all day." she said. "Well then. I'm glad that today was peaceful for both of us." Fowler replied, "I'm going to get changed then I'll be right back. When I get back, you want to watch an episode or two of _The Walking Dead_?" "You bet dad. I'll pull it up on _Netflix._" Elena replied with a smile.

It was hours past midnight, and Elena and her father had gone through eight episodes of "_The Walking Dead_." Elena yawned before looking over at her father, who was passed out on the couch, snoring louder than Optimus's truck horn. Elena yawned again then turned to the television, where she then grabbed the remote and turned the television off. She stood up and looked at her father one last time before saying, "Night dad. Be prepared for Zombie dreams." With that said, Elena walked up the stairs to her room and retired for the night.

Days later, things were settling down for Elena. Every day she'd go to school, get picked up by the Autobots and hang out at their base; where they'd play games, talk, or just chill. Today was a Tuesday, and the bell signaling the end of school had just rang. Elena gathered her textbooks and notes accordingly, and exited the school building. As she walked out of the school doors, Elena saw a group of large teenage boys in a circle, laughing. As she walked closer to see what was happening, she noticed that inside the circle there was a small boy. Elena soon realized that the small boy was Raf! "Please guys, I just want to leave." Raf pleaded innocently. "Leave? With who, your mom? Oh wait, no. That fancy yellow sports car. Does your mom even care about you to pick your sorry butt up?!" one of the larger boys sneered. "Yeah! Why would she want to pick up a little geek like you anyway?!" another bully mocked. "Hey! I'm not a geek!" Raf retorted, trying to push past the encirclement of bullies. One of the bullies shoved Raf back forcefully, and was followed by another bully shoving Raf again, and another, and another. "Hey! Stop it!" Raf shouted. "HEY!" Elena shouted. The leader of the bullies, the largest, turned around to face her. "What do you want?" he asked scornfully. "Leave him alone." Elena replied. "Why? Are you gonna stop me?" he replied mockingly, sizing her up as he spoke.

Suddenly, Jack and Miko ran into the fray. "Whoa guys, take it easy!" Jack said, stepping in between the bully and Elena. "We don't want any trouble, Daran. Just leave Raf alone." Jack said calmly. "And you're gonna stop me Drive-thru boy? Along with the Asian chick and the new girl? Yeah right! You couldn't stop me even if you wanted to." Daran replied. He turned back to Raf, who was still trapped in the circle of bullies and shoved him forcefully, "See?! There's nothing any of you can do to stop me." "Stop it!" Elena said forcefully. Daran ignored her and shoved Raf again. "I told you to stop!" Elena shouted angrily, before marching towards Daran. Jack tried to grab her hand to stop her, but Elena shook it off. Daran continued to ignore Elena and went to shove Raf again. "I said STOP!" Elena shouted furiously, before delivering a right cross to Daran's face. The bully was hurled to the ground, and clutched his face as he began to recover, wailing in pain as he did so. Jack and Miko looked at Elena with expressions of shock, as they tried to take in the scene before them. Elena looked down angrily at Daran, before turning to his shocked accomplices. "Anyone else want to still pick on Raf?" she asked threateningly. Almost at the same time, all of Daran's accomplices shook their heads in a "No" gesture before backing away as Elena walked over to Raf. "Are you alright?" Elena asked as she helped Raf to his feet, and walked him over to Jack and Miko. "I think so. Thanks to you." he replied.

"You'll pay for this!" Daran exclaimed angrily. "Really? So you're going to go tell the teachers and everyone else that a girl beat you up? How do you think that will help your macho image that you're trying to create by picking on kids smaller than yourself!?" Elena retorted cleverly. Daran looked around at his posse, who returned wary and scornful glances. Daran looked up at Elena and quietly replied with, "No." Elena smirked a little, then walked away with Jack, Miko, and Raf to the curb, where Arcee and Bumblebee had just pulled up to. "That.. Was.. AWESOME!" Miko shouted, "You took out that bully like he was nothing!" "Yeah, I guess so." Elena replied humbly. "Awesome? Elena, you could have gotten hurt, or detention if Daran tells!" Jack said worriedly. "I was only defending Raf, which was more than you did, and Daran won't say a thing about this." Elena replied. "And why won't he?" Jack asked, his arms folded over each other. "Because I know his type. He's a wannabe macho man who thinks that by picking on others he can make himself a man. He wouldn't dare endanger that image by letting the entire school know he got beaten up by me." Elena replied confidently. "What Elena's saying does make sense, Jack." Raf said. Jack sighed, "Fine. But this is our secret." "Trust me, we have bigger ones to keep." Elena replied.

Jack, Miko, Elena, and Raf walked over to Arcee and Bumblebee, who were waiting at the curb. "What happened?" Arcee asked Jack pessimistically. "Nothing. Just some trouble with a few guys at school." Jack replied. "Really Jack?" Arcee asked suspiciously. "We'll talk about it later." he replied as he placed his helmet on. "Hey! Where's Bulkhead?" Miko asked Arcee in surprise. "Ratchet gave him strict orders not to drive around yet." Arcee replied. Miko scoffed, then hopped inside Bumblebee with Raf. "Hey Elena. Is Wheeljack coming to pick you up?" Raf asked. "He should be. I told him to be here at 2:30." Elena replied. "Bee can give you a ride if you want." he said kindly. "It's okay, I'll wait." Elena replied as she sat down on the curb. "Okay. See you later." Raf said as Bumblebee pulled away from the curb, then drove off with Jack and Arcee following. About five minutes later, Elena heard the sound of tires screeching. She looked up to see Wheeljack skid to a stop next to the curb in front of her. "Sorry I'm late sport, got held up in traffic." Wheeljack said as he opened his car door. "Yeah right, Wheeljack. Traffic in Jasper?" Elena replied mockingly as she placed her stuff in the back seat. "Fine, you got me. I got lost." he replied sheepishly. "That's a much better excuse." Elena said as she placed her seatbelt on. Wheeljack closed the door and drove off.

When Wheeljack and Elena arrived at the Autobots' base, they found all eyes upon them as they stopped. "What's going on everyone?" Elena asked as she hopped out of Wheeljack and grabbed her backpack. "Nothing. Just the fact that you totally taught that bully a lesson! You should have seen her guys! When that bully was picking on Raf, WHAM; Elena comes in and totally punches the dude in the face!" Miko explained excitedly. "Is this true?" Optimus asked, his serious expression, intimidating as it was considerate. "Yes. But I only did it to defend Raf!" Elena explained. "What did this bully do to Raf exactly?" Ratchet asked, looking to Raf as he spoke. "Well.. He pushed me around, called me names then shoved me to the ground." Raf replied timidly. "Well then, it seems he got what he deserved." Arcee replied. "I suppose he was taught a lesson, but I don't think we should approve of violence towards minor acts of aggression." Optimus replied. "Optimus is right." Ratchet replied, before looking at Elena, "So, how'd you take him out?!" Ratchet's enthusiastic question drew everyone's eyes to him. "What?!" he asked. "I gave him a taste of my right hook. Set him on his behind effortlessly." Elena explained proudly. "Nice work. I'll bet that taught him a thing or two about messing with a wrecker." Wheeljack added as he walked into the group in his robot form. Optimus turned his head towards Wheeljack and seemed to shoot him an angry glare. "Fine, it's about time I got back to my ship anyway." Wheeljack replied, taking Optimus's hint. "You're not going to stay for a bit?" Elena asked. "Sorry sport, but I still need to finish those repairs. Plus, the sooner I finish, the sooner you can fly it." he replied. "You'll really let me drive?" Elena asked suspiciously. "Of course, figured it'd be more fun if we didn't have a swarm of cons on our tail." Wheeljack said enthusiastically. "Cool." Elena said. Wheeljack then transformed back into vehicle mode and drove off.

Just as Optimus's optics landed back on Elena, the computer's sirens went off. "What is it Ratchet?" Optimus asked, turning away from Elena and to Ratchet, who was working furiously on the computer. "It seems that our sensors have picked up an emergency aid signal." Ratchet explained. "Coming from what?" Arcee asked. "An image of the source should appear on screen." Ratchet replied. Seconds later, an image of a metal pod appeared on screen. "It appears to be a Cybertronian escape pod." Ratchet stated. "Can you identify the escape pod's origin?" Optimus asked Ratchet. "Based on this image it's impossible to tell. But I can supply coordinates to its landing site." Ratchet replied. "Very well. Ratchet open the groundbridge, we're going to investigate." Optimus said. Ratchet quickly pressed multiple keys, and opened the groundbridge. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" Optimus ordered, before turning to Ratchet, who was still at the controls, "I need you to come with us." "What? Me? You need me to work the groundbridge." Ratchet replied in surprise. "If the pod is of Autobot origin, we may need a medic on site. In your absence, Rafael can man the groundbridge." Optimus said, looking to Raf as he spoke. "Sure thing Optimus!" Raf replied as he opened his laptop computer and began typing in keys. "Very well." Ratchet said, before walking through the groundbridge with Optimus.

"So, what do you guys think is inside the escape pod?" Elena asked casually. "I don't know, but I hope it's another Autobot! We need a new bot around here kicking Decepticon tailpipe!" Miko said animatedly. "What if it turns out to be a Decepticon?" Raf asked. "If it is, our bots will scrap em'!" Miko replied excitedly. "Too bad Bulkhead's not with them." Elena said quietly, "I hope he recovers soon." "Bulkhead will recover, and when he does he'll come back even stronger! He'll mash up the cons like no other bot has before!" Miko stated, moving animatedly around as she spoke. A dissatisfied groan was heard from the hallway, followed by loud scraping and clunks. Everyone turned around to see Bulkhead despondently walk away down the hall, obviously having heard the conversation. "Hopefully Bulkhead can get out of this depressing funk he's in, or else we'll be stuck with him like this." Elena said fretfully.

About ten minutes passed by without a word from the Autobots, causing Elena and the others to become increasingly curious and impatient. "Hey Raf, can you call the bots and ask them if they found an Autobot or not?" Miko asked impatiently. "If they were in trouble, or if they'd found anything they'd of called by now Miko." Raf replied. "Raf's right, Miko. Just be patient." Jack said as he lounged on the couch. Suddenly the communication screen popped up, showing Optimus's image. "Raf. Open the ground bridge." Optimus ordered. "Finally!" Miko exclaimed eagerly. In a matter of a few key clicks, Raf opened the ground bridge. The green-light of the ground bridge swirled as it activated. The team walked through, but Elena noticed that there was one more bot than usual. As Raf deactivated the ground bridge, Elena, Miko. Raf and Jack's attention was drawn to the newcomer. "Who is that?" Elena asked Optimus apprehensively, as she looked at the white and blue robot. "This is Smokescreen, he is record keeper from Iacon. And an ally." Optimus replied. "Cool!" Miko exclaimed as she ran over to Smokescreen, "We haven't had someone new here since Wheeljack! So what's your story Smoke? Where'd you come from?! How'd you get here?! How many blasters you packing?" Smokescreen looked at Miko blankly before turning to the rest of the Autobots. "So these are the life-forms we're supposed to protect? Are they all like this?" he asked. "Fortunately not, but I do share Miko's fascination with how you came to be on Earth." Ratchet replied.

A few minutes later, Smokescreen had finished explaining how he was captured by Decepticons, how he had escaped from them, and how he had ended up here on Earth. Elena looked at Smokescreen with curiosity. His story was interesting, and he seemed like a decent enough guy. "I believe a tour of the base is in order." Optimus said. "Sure thing!" Miko exclaimed before an annoyed groan caught her ears. She turned around to see Bulkhead glumly walk away, "I mean, Jack here provides a most informative tour." "Okay then. Follow me." Jack said as he walked down from the higher level and down to the first. Elena, wanting to get to know Smokescreen, quickly ran over to Jack and Smokescreen. "Hey guys. Can I join you two?" she asked. "Sure, I don't mind." Smokescreen replied casually. "Thanks." Elena said, smiling kindly as she, Jack and Smokescreen walked down the hall to begin the tour.

As Jack guided the tour of the base, they entered the hall where storage units held "Iacon relics" according to Jack. Elena had actually never been down this hallway and had never seen one of the relics, seeing as they were locked up and she had been afraid to ask Optimus. As Jack walked down the hall, he pointed to the different storage lockers as he spoke, "And there's the Immobilizer, Spark Extractor, Phase Shifter-" "I know." Smokescreen said, cutting Jack off, as he peered into one of the storage locker's small windows, "I remember these." "Jack, how am I supposed to know what these are without ever seeing them?" Elena asked impertinently. "Well, I can't just open them up. They're in there for a reason you know." Jack replied bluntly. "Hey Smoke, could you give a lift so I can see?" Elena asked. "Uh, sure." Smokescreen replied hesitantly before placing his hand on the ground. Elena climbed on Smokescreen's hand and held on as he lifted her up to the window on the storage locker. Elena peered into the locker and saw an oddly shaped wristband-like device inside on a pedestal. "It looks like the Omnitrix." she stated. "The what?" Smokescreen asked in confusion. "It's a device in a TV show that turns a kid into a bunch of different aliens." Elena replied. "A TV show?" Smokescreen asked, looking to Jack for reference. "It's a.. It's a human thing." he replied. Smokescreen decided not to dwell on the subject and moved on to a different locker. Elena peered in to see a weird-looking, spider-robot inside a strange pod. "What the heck is that?!" Elena asked in fear. "Airachnid. She was frozen in that stasis pod and we brought her here so she can't escape." Jack explained. "And what kind of relic is she?" Smokescreen asked. "The kind you don't want to mess with." Jack replied before continuing the tour. Smokescreen and Elena looked at Jack then at each other, exchanging confused glances. They shrugged their shoulders, then followed Jack as the tour continued.

As the tour continued, Elena kind of found herself and Smokescreen talking more and more. Elena asked him all about what Cybertron was like and Smokescreen asked her about Earth. Soon, they were talking about different cars and vehicles on Earth, and crazy stuff that had happened to them in life. As they walked through the base, Elena was now sitting on Smokescreen's shoulder, talking and laughing with Smokescreen. Jack was beginning to think that the "tour" was over. "Okay you two, I think I've shown you everything around the base." he said bluntly. "Alright Jack. Thanks for showing us around." Elena said, smiling cheerfully as she spoke. "Yeah, thanks Jack. It was a very.. informative tour. It'll be real hard for me to get lost now." Smokescreen added in, optimistically. "See you two later." Jack said as he began to walk away. "Where are you going?" Elena asked. "To the main room. I'm going to watch some TV." Jack replied dully. Smokescreen and Elena looked at each other and exchanged confused shrugs. However, when Smokescreen shrugged his shoulders, Elena almost fell off, but barely managed to grab a hold of one of his shoulder-plates to stay on. "Whoa, you okay?" Smokescreen asked, placing his hand next to Elena to make sure she didn't fall. "Yeah, I'm fine." she replied, "What do think's up with Jack?" "Don't know." Smokescreen replied.

It wasn't long before Smokescreen and Elena walked back into the main room, where the Autobots and the rest of the humans were hanging out. The peace was suddenly disturbed by sirens blaring throughout the base, via the alarm system. "What does that mean?!" Elena asked, as she tried to speak over the alarms. "I'm not sure." Ratchet replied as he looked at the computer monitors. Suddenly, a picture of a large cluster of red stones appeared on one of the monitors. "By the Allspark…it seems that the humans have uncovered Red Energon." Ratchet exclaimed in shock. "Red Energon? Here on Earth?" Smokescreen asked. "We must contact Agent Fowler to order an evacuation of that construction site. If we have discovered the Red Energon, the Decepticons might have also found it. And they will not hesitate to take it. By whatever means necessary." Optimus said. "Very well Optimus." Ratchet replied before contacting Elena's father.

After the call to Elena's father was made, they were given the all-clear to retrieve the Red Energon. "Bumblebee, Arcee. You two and I will retrieve the Red Energon. Ratchet, activate the ground bridge." Optimus said. Ratchet nodded, then activated the ground bridge by pulling up on a lever. "Optimus! This is the perfect time for me to show you what I'm made of, sir. Please let me come with you." Smokescreen asked, begging for Optimus's approval. "I admire your enthusiasm to help, Smokescreen, but your assistance is not required for this mission. I think it is best that you remain here at base, with Ratchet, Bulkhead and the children." Optimus replied, "Perhaps it would be best if you became acclimated with your surroundings here on Earth and obtain an Earth-based vehicle mode." "Yes, Smokescreen. So you can keep a _low _profile, cause here on Earth we're robots in disguise." Arcee said condescendingly. "Arcee is right. One of the children can help you obtain a suitable vehicle mode here in Jasper." Optimus said, before transforming into his vehicle mode and driving through the ground bridge. "Well then, let's find you a vehicle mode. Hey Jack! You want to come with?" Elena asked Jack, who was standing by the staircase. "Um, sure. I'll come with." he replied. Elena, Jack and Smokescreen were bridged to a rock mesa next to Jasper's freeway. Once through the ground bridge, Elena and Jack quickly instructed Smokescreen to lie low on the mesa as to not attract attention to himself. "So, this is Jasper?" Smokescreen asked. "A part of it at least. This is just the main road most people use to get here." Jack replied as he crouched down next to Smokescreen.

About a half-an-hour later, Elena, Jack, and Smokescreen were still laying down on the mesa looking at the cars that drove by on the freeway. "That one?" Jack asked as he pointed to a beat-up rust-covered pick-up truck. "It's a bit more of Ratchet's speed, wouldn't you say?" Smokescreen replied. "How about that one?" Jack suggested, as he motioned to a concrete mixer truck. "Sure, if I was a Constructicon." Smokescreen replied sarcastically, "Seriously? This is the best your planet can offer?" "No, but this is Jasper, Nevada." Jack replied down-heartedly. Elena scoffed as she sat against a rock, that protruded out of the mesa, "Yeah, no kidding." Smokescreen looked at Jack with a smile. "I feel for you." he said comfortingly. "I'm mean to complain or anything guys, but we've been up here for an hour now. If we don't find a cool car soon, we'll have to move to a different spot." Elena said. "If we're just patient, something good will come along before you know it." Jack replied calmly. Elena rolled her eyes, before staring up at the sky in boredom. Suddenly, she heard the sound of engines revving. She got to her feet and quickly moved next to Smokescreen and Jack, and crouched down between them. "You guys hear that?" she asked. "Yeah." Smokescreen replied as he and the others looked through the cars on the freeway, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"There!" Elena shouted, as she pointed to a ground-hugging race car with '38" on checkered flags painted on the doors. The race car was surrounded by four other brightly colored race cars, as they drove down the freeway. "What are race-cars doing in Jasper?" Elena asked. "They're probably driving through Jasper for the race-car rally that's down in Reno in a couple days." Jack replied. "What do you think Smoke?" Elena asked. "I think it'll do." Smokescreen replied as he prepared to scan the number '38" race car. "Whoa, you're supposed to be keeping a 'low-profile' remember? A race car with a big '38" on the doors isn't exactly low-profile." Jack said in a serious tone. "Come on Jack, that's the coolest car we'll see for a week in Jasper. Passing an opportunity like this would be crazy!" Elena pleaded. Jack sighed in defeat, "Go on." "Yes!" Smokescreen said in victory, before he began to scan the race car.

Elena, Jack, and Smokescreen returned from their outing via ground bridge. When they returned, Jack skulked off to the couch with Raf, while Miko rocked out to her heavy metal tunes. "So, what else do you guys have to do around here?" Smokescreen asked Elena. Elena had to think for an answer to Smokescreen's question for a little while. "Well…we have video games, television, Frisbees.." "Wait, what are.. Frisbees?" Smokescreen asked with an expression of confusion on his face. Elena looked at Smokescreen and smiled, "You ever play 'Lobbing' back on Cybertron?" "Yeah, I remember that old game. But what does it have to do with Frisbee?" Smokescreen asked. "Let me down and I'll get one, okay?" Elena asked. "Okay." Smokescreen replied as he put his hand next to Elena, where she hopped onto it and was slowly lowered down by Smokescreen. Elena quickly ran off to main room, then she dashed over to the steps leading to the second story of the base. She bent over and looked under the staircase, where a single white and yellow Frisbee lay.

After Elena had the Frisbee, she rushed back to Smokescreen, who had patiently waited for her in the same spot. "Thanks for waiting, Smoke." she said as she ran up to him. "No problem." Smokescreen replied as he looked at the Frisbee in Elena's hand, "Is that the Frisbee?" "Yep. Now, let me show you how to play." she replied, "So it's kind of similar to 'Lobbing.' You just stand apart from the other player, catch the Frisbee when its thrown to you, and then throw it back to the other player. Easy?" "I think so." Smokescreen replied as he stepped back from Elena. "Okay then let's get started." Elena replied, before throwing the Frisbee at Smokescreen. Smokescreen quickly raised his right hand and easily caught the Frisbee. "Okay, so I just throw it back to you now?" he asked as he looked at Frisbee in his hand. "That's the idea. And make sure when you throw it, it doesn't flip around like a ball. Release it so it sails through the air." Elena replied haughtily. Smokescreen looked at the Frisbee and then back at Elena, "Okay." Smokescreen flexed his right arm and released the Frisbee in one fluid motion, sending the Frisbee sailing high above Elena's head. Right after he threw the Frisbee, Smokescreen knew he had thrown it too far and replied with a quick, "Sorry." Elena watched as the Frisbee sailed towards her, and not wanted to have to walk down the entire hallway to get it, she went for the Frisbee. Now, the Frisbee had been thrown and was sailing at a distance of ten feet in the air, but Elena was eager and determined to catch the Frisbee. Elena then ran down the hall as fast as her legs could take her. She spotted a stack of boxes on the side of the hall, and knowing they could improve her height on the Frisbee, she dashed towards them; leaping up each box until she had the desired height. Elena then leapt off the boxes and into the hall; catching the Frisbee in her right hand, before tucking herself into a ball as she hit the ground and rolled.

Smokescreen rushed over to her quickly, "Are you okay?" he asked as Elena stood up on her feet. "I'm fine. Especially now that I caught the Frisbee." she said smugly as she held out the white and yellow Frisbee in her hand. "Nice catch! Hey, where'd you learn those moves? Were you in some kind of human Elite Guard or something?" Smokescreen asked curiously. "You could say that. I am the daughter of an Army Ranger. He made sure I was taught in self-defense, survival skills, and gymnastics." Elena replied. "So you're not a warrior?" Smokescreen asked. "No, but as long as I have the drive to do it, does being a warrior really matter?" Elena asked. "I guess not." Smokescreen replied, "Want to play another round?" "Of course." Elena replied as she and Smokescreen ran across from each other and began playing again.

About an hour later, Smokescreen and Elena returned from playing Frisbee in the hallway, and entered the main room, where Ratchet, Miko, Jack, and Raf were all huddled around the computers. "What's going on? And where is everyone?" Elena asked in a perplexed tone. "Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee are out on a mission to retrieve a cluster of Red Energon." Ratchet replied bluntly as his full attention remained focused on the monitors of the computer. "Red Energon? Here?" Smokescreen asked, surprised by Ratchet's statement. "Yes, the humans who were working on a construction site must of accidentally unearthed it. Thanks to Agent Fowler, the humans have been evacuated from the site incase any Decepticons show up to try to obtain it." Ratchet replied. Suddenly, an image of Optimus's face appeared on one of the monitors. "Ratchet…" Optimus said weakly. "Optimus, what is it?" Ratchet asked hastily. "It's Starscream… he has the Apex armor.." Optimus replied. "Starscream? That stiletto-heeled freak from Cybertron?" Smokescreen asked. "Wait, he seriously has stiletto-heels?" Elena asked, giggling at the mere thoughts running through her mind. "From what I've heard, he does." Smokescreen replied with a smirk on his face. "We may require.. Assistance." Optimus said over the com-link, his voice strained as he spoke. "You heard Prime, doc. You have to let me out there!" Ratchet replied with a series of short "stop-speaking" sounds, before speaking English, "You're still not ready Smokescreen." "Ratchet, then let me out doc. I'm ready to pound a few more dents into Scream." Bulkhead said, as he strained to move towards Ratchet. "And you're still too weak Bulkhead. You'd be of little use to Optimus and the others in your weakened state." Ratchet commanded. With that, Smokescreen walked away angrily from the main hall and went into the hallway.

"Ratchet, what's the Apex armor?" Elena asked. "It's a powerful body-suit made of a nearly impenetrable metal alloy, that gives the wearer incredible strength and defensive capabilities." Ratchet replied. "Okay, so it can withstand any attack?" Elena asked Ratchet. "Yes, any physical attack, or any blaster or projectile attack. Why does this interest you so suddenly?" Ratchet replied disdainfully. "Just curious.." she replied before walking into the hallway. Ratchet scoffed as he watched Elena leave, "Humans and their curiosity." Elena quickly moved through the halls, in which Smokescreen had to be in one of. She turned a corner to see Smokescreen in the hall where the Iacon Relics were stored. "And what are you doing?" Elena asked, placing her hands on her hips as she spoke. "Me? I'm just.. checking to make sure the relics are where they should be." he replied nervously. "Relax Smoke, I'm trying to come up with a plan to help Optimus and the others too." Elena replied. "Oh, good.. So what do you have in mind?" Smokescreen asked curiously. "Probably the same idea you had. Using one of these relics to kick Starscream's aft." she said bluntly, "So you know a bit about these relics, what do they all do exactly?" "Well, the Immobilizer, immobilizes the enemy." Smokescreen explained. "Yes, but wouldn't that bounce off of the Apex armor?" Elena asked. "True. Well then there's the Polarity Gauntlet, it can attract metal objects to it or repel them." Smokescreen said. "That's cool, but with that armor, I don't think you'd want to be that close to Starscream." Elena added. "Right then.." Smokescreen said, his processor contemplating the other relics' abilities. "If there was only some way to get Starscream out of that armor. Then you could pound him then and there." Elena said, wishfully thinking out loud. "That's it!" Smokescreen exclaimed as a light went off in his mind. "What's it?" Elena asked in confusion. "I know just the relic for the job." Smokescreen said before dashing over to another storage locker.

Elena was lifted up to the window in the storage locker to see inside. As she peered inside, she saw the wristband relic lay inside. "The Omnitrix is the perfect weapon?" Elena asked, her voice in a condescending tone. "The Phase-shifter allows the user to pass through solid objects, and if set correctly, can pass through an object and grab or move what's inside and get it out." Smokescreen explained. "Well then, the Omnitrix it is." Elena said. "What do you think you're doing?" a familiar and stern voice asked. Elena and Smokescreen turned around to see Ratchet standing feet from them with a scowl across his faceplate. "We're trying to help Optimus and the others." Elena said. "And how are you going to do that? By stealing a relic?" Ratchet asked scornfully. "Maybe…" Elena replied, turning her head to the side. "Ratchet, we have a plan. I'm going to use the Phase-shifter to pass through the Apex Armor and kick Starscream out of it. What do you say?" Smokescreen asked. "I'd say…" Ratchet began to say. "It's foolish. Of course!" Elena exclaimed in frustration. "I'd say, that it's a good plan." Ratchet finished. "What?" Smokescreen and Elena asked in unison. "I said, that I approve of your plan. And I will allow _Smokescreen _to join the others. "Sweet!" Smokescreen shouted in victory, "Wait, so you're saying that Elena can't go with me? Not even to watch from a safe distance to see me take out Starscream?" "No. Elena will remain here at base, where it's safe." Ratchet replied firmly. "It's okay Smoke, you can tell me all about it when you get back with that armor." Elena replied with a kind smile, and a glint of mischief in her eyes, that Smokescreen barely managed to catch.

Smokescreen placed the Phase-shifter on his right wrist as Ratchet activated the ground bridge. "Be careful out there." Ratchet warned Smokescreen. "Be sure to kick Starscream's tailpipe, Smokescreen!" Miko shouted. Smokescreen nodded, before transforming into his vehicle mode, and drove through the ground bridge. "Hey Elena, you want to play Motor City Rally Race 4?" Raf asked. No reply was given from Elena. "Elena?" Raf asked in confusion as he looked for Elena, who was nowhere to be seen. "Elena?" Jack asked, now beginning to worry. Just as Ratchet powered down the ground bridge, Jack ran up to him. "Ratchet, when was the last time you saw Elena?" "Five minutes or so. Why do you ask?" Ratchet inquired. "Wait a second. I'll just call her." Jack said, as he reached for his cell phone and dialed Elena's number. Suddenly, a ring tone of "It's My Life" by "Bon Jovi" began coming from the back of the hall. Jack, Raf, and Miko ran through the halls and located the source of the sound. Elena's cell phone was placed on one of the storage boxes in the hall, with a note attached to it which had, "Don't freak out, went through bridge. Be back with armor." "Oh my god…Elena just pulled a Miko." Jack said in disbelief and shock as he read the note.

Elena ran through the ground bridge to see a giant robot in a suit lifting up a crane. She dashed behind a bulldozer and peered around one of its black tires to look at the action unfolding in front of her. _What the frag am I doing?! _she thought, _I could die out here! _Elena began to feel even more uneasy when the robot in the suit, which had to be Starscream happened to only be no more than eight yards away from her hiding spot. Elena turned around to see Smokescreen in his robot mode, standing across from Starscream. "So, you must be the Autobots' new recruit." Starscream remarked smugly. "You must be Starscream. I thought you'd be taller." Smokescreen remarked. Despite her dangerous predicament, Elena couldn't help but laugh slightly at Smokescreen's witty remark. Just as she covered her mouth with her hands, in a hopeful attempt to quiet herself, all grew quiet. Elena slowly peered around the bulldozer to see what was going on, only to come face to face with Starscream. Elena let out a terrified scream, before backing away as quickly as she could from Starscream. Suddenly, the bulldozer was lifted off the ground and hurled a distance away by Starscream. Elena ran as fast as she could, but soon found herself in the iron grip of Starscream.

Smokescreen was shocked to hear a scream, and watched in confusion as Starscream walked back to his original position, though Smokescreen noticed that he had something in his hand. "And who would this little human be?" Starscream taunted as he held Elena out in front of him, "Another one of your little Autobot allies? Hmm?" Smokescreen's expression went from serious to shocked as he looked at Elena, as she squirmed in Starscream's grip. "Let me go you fat freak!" Elena exclaimed as she struggled in vain to escape. "A feisty one, isn't she?" Starscream taunted with a smug grin on his faceplate. "You'd better let her go, Scream. Or else." Smokescreen said. "Or else', what?" Starscream replied haughtily. "Kiss your armor goodbye!" Smokescreen exclaimed, then transformed into his vehicle mode and drove towards Starscream at full speed. _Come on, Smoke. _Elena thought. Starscream stared at Smokescreen in confusion as Smokescreen transformed into robot mode and came at him in a flying kick. As he braced for impact, Starscream was shocked as he felt himself get pounded by Smokescreen's kick and out of his armor.

Smokescreen landed on his feet and gave Starscream a smug look of victory, before walking over to the Apex armor, which was standing in the same position as before, straight on its feet. Smokescreen opened up the armor's hand, freeing Elena, who swiftly climbed into his hand. "Thanks Smoke. I owe you one." Elena said gratefully. "A Phase-shifter! That's not fair!" Starscream exclaimed as he hastily stood up on his feet. Smokescreen smiled smugly as Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee, regrouped with him as they all faced Starscream. "Well, you're not the only one with a fancy, wrist-mounted device!" Starscream shouted as he fired a missile off of his wrist at the Autobots. Smokescreen covered Elena with his other hand and rolled to the side to avoid the missile. He uncovered his hand from Elena, who was covering her own head as well, and looked at her. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yeah, I think so. What happened to Starscream?" she asked. Everyone stood up and looked at the aftermath of Starscream's attack. The large chunk of Red Energon that had been on the site was blown to bits, and Starscream was gone. Elena turned to look at the Apex armor, which was still standing in its original position. "Well, at least we have the armor." she said optimistically. Elena looked at Optimus, who returned a scornful and disapproving glance, causing Elena to look away shamefully.

Once back at base, Optimus and Bumblebee had hauled the Apex armor through the ground bridge and into the base. Smokescreen placed Elena down on the ground, in which Elena hopped off and walked over to the couch, where Miko, Raf, and Jack were waiting. "So, you see any action?!" Miko asked eagerly. "Plenty." Elena replied, before looking at Jack, expecting him to blow up at the reckless action she took. "I'm not even gonna bother saying anything." Jack stated solemnly. "Fine, then I won't bother telling you anything that happened." Elena replied snappily, before walking past Jack and sitting down on the couch. "Smokescreen what you did was-" Optimus began to say but was interrupted by Smokescreen, "Irresponsible, reckless, foolish.." "Very commendable and brave of you. It was wise of you to choose strategy over impulse, and those are admirable traits." Optimus said. "Thank you Optimus." Smokescreen replied. "And I believe it is time that you officially joined us. Welcome to the team, Smokescreen." Optimus said, placing a hand on Smokescreen's shoulder. Miko, Raf, and Elena clapped their hands in approval, and Elena gave Smokescreen a 'thumbs up' and smiled. "Elena." Optimus said, causing Elena to wince at her name being called. "Yes, Optimus?" she asked, preparing to be bombarded with a lecture. "What you did was reckless and dangerous. And you could have caused serious damage to yourself." Optimus said, his serious tone and intimidating size slightly frightening to Elena. "I know. I just wanted to see you guys in action. It was stupid, I know, but I knew the risks. I knew it was dangerous. And you all are always going out in danger to help us humans. You can't get mad when one of us humans gets tired of staying in the base while you guys get all the action. We're going to sneak out, follow you, or even be with you when Decepticons attack. It's inevitable. And you'll just have to face that we're apart of the team, Optimus." Elena said with a serious voice.

Everyone was glued to the spot and watched Elena with shock as she spoke to Optimus fearlessly. Optimus looked at Elena and sighed. "I suppose you're right. I cannot always prohibit you from joining us on missions. But, I will ask you this. Please do not join our missions without the protection of your guardian or one of us." Optimus replied solemnly. Elena nodded her head in compliance. Optimus stepped back and turned to walk away. Elena went over to the couch and grabbed her backpack. "You leaving to go home again?" Jack asked. "Yes Jack, I am. I happen to live in a house and I'd like to go there now. So please, keep your Smart-Alec comments to yourself and stop acting like you run the place." Elena growled, before walking past the Autobots and towards the exit tunnel. "Do you need a ride?" Smokescreen asked. "Seeing as my guardian is never around, yes. Yes I do." Elena said sharply. "Alright then." Smokescreen replied, slightly taken aback by Elena's grouchiness. He then transformed into his vehicle mode and opened the door for Elena, who quickly got into the front passenger seat. After she was buckled, Smokescreen drove out of the tunnel and into the wide-open desert roads of Jasper. "After Elena's sudden departure, everyone was left looking at each other in confusion. "She's a little…" Miko said awkwardly. "Angry?" Raf said. "Yeah.." Jack replied dejectedly. "Well she has been through a lot today. And I think there may be a little more to her anger than meets the eye." Arcee stated, joining in on the conversation. "What do you mean Arcee?" Jack asked. "I think you should lay off for a while." Arcee replied. "Lay off? What does that mean?" Jack replied in shock. "I think you know what I mean Jack. Elena's getting upset about Wheeljack not being around. And you've been kind of bossy lately." Arcee said. "Bossy?" Jack asked in confusion. "Yes Jack. And I don't think she likes being fathered by someone other than her father." Arcee replied, then walked away without another word, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.


	7. Satellites, Hackers, & Dinner

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything of Transformers Prime, just my OC, Elena Fowler. For this chapter I will be following the episode "The Human Factor" from season two of Transformers Prime. **

After weaving through the non-existent traffic of Jasper, Smokescreen finally pulled up to Elena's house. Smokescreen opened the car door, which Elena promptly exited out of, after grabbing her backpack, and walked up to her door front. "Thanks for the ride, Smoke." she said, before looking back at Smokescreen. "Anytime, Elena." he replied. As Elena reached for the door handle, she was surprised when the door opened itself. Elena's father stepped out and gave her a disapproving glance. "Where were you?" he asked in a scornful tone. "I was with the Autobots and my friends at the base." Elena replied. "I mean where were you tonight? And who is the spangled hotshot who drove you home?" Elena's father asked as he looked at Smokescreen, who was still parked at the curb. "That's Smokescreen. He's an Autobot, and he just joined today." Elena replied calmly. "So you're the new Autobot Prime told me about?" Elena's father asked indifferently. "Yes, sir. You must be Agent Fowler, Elena's father." Smokescreen replied. "You bet your shiny rims, I am! Now Smokescreen, you are dismissed." Elena's father replied. "Okay. Catch you later, Elena!" Smokescreen replied before he speedily drove off into the night. "And slow down!" Elena's father shouted as Smokescreen hit a turn a bit faster than he should have. With Smokescreen's departure, Agent Fowler's attention locked back onto Elena. "I think we should continue this discussion inside." he said as he held open the door for Elena. Elena took one look at her dad and knew she was in for a very long lecture, before she stepped inside the house.

Once inside, Elena reluctantly sat down in one of the recliner chairs in the living room, while her father stood across from her. "I can't believe what you pulled tonight, Elena." he began, pacing uneasily and huffing a little as he spoke. "Prime told you, didn't he?" Elena asked, her voice carrying an upset tone. "About what? About how you snuck into a battle with the Autobots and a Decepticon!?" Elena's father said in an angry-sarcastic tone. "I just went to see the fight. I didn't plan to participate in it." Elena replied haughtily., adverting her gaze from her father. "But you were almost hurt, killed even! And for what, a little of an adrenaline rush?" Elena's father asked. "Hey, I was saved by Smokescreen alright. At least he was there for me; unlike you were when mom died!" Elena snapped at her father, a tear creeping out of the corner of one of her eyes. Elena's father was silenced by his daughter's retort, and frozen in place. "You decided to just take off on one of your missions in the corps, and you didn't return for over a year!" Elena shouting angrily in reply. "I needed you. I really needed you, and you weren't there." she added, her voice beginning to choke from tears, "I know it's been years since Mom died, and its in the past, but that doesn't mean the pain is gone.." Elena's father looked at his daughter sorrowfully and with grief that weighed heavy on his heart. He walked over to Elena and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know honey. It's been a long and hard road for us, especially you. I know I shouldn't of up and left you when you needed me. And I'm sorry for that. I'm so sorry." he said as the slightest trace of tears welled in his eyes. Elena looked into her father's eyes and embraced her father in an emotive hug. "And I will never, ever, leave your side again." Elena's father said as he held Elena in a soft embrace.

The following day, Elena awoke to the sound of what she thought was a stampede. She groggily dragged herself out of bed and looked at the clock adorning her nightstand, which read: 6:40 AM. _Might as well get ready for school.. _she thought as she made her way to the door. Once she exited her room, Elena walked down the stairs, which led to the center of the living room. She looked around for the source of the sound of footsteps clamoring throughout the house. As Elena entered the hallway, she passed the guest bathroom and peered inside to see her father rapidly brushing his teeth as if possessed. "Dad?" she asked curiously, confused by the scene in front of her. Elena's father looked at her, then proceeded to spit into the sink, and rinsed the remaining toothpaste out of his mouth with water. He then dried his hands on the hand towel hanging from the towel rod on the wall, then continued on to readjust his tie. "No time to talk now honey. I've just been called to work on an emergency situation. Your lunch money is on the kitchen table, so don't forget it. See you after school - or after your club." Agent Fowler said hurriedly, as he exited the bathroom and entered the hallway where Elena was standing. "Dad. What's going on? I know there's only one thing that could be so urgent. It's Decepticons, isn't it?" Elena asked smartly, an impatient, no-nonsense expression on her face. Elena's father sighed in both disappointment of her catching on so fast, and the fact that he was wasting time. "Yes. But you'll have to be filled in later. I really need to leave honey." Elena then watched as her father grabbed his car keys and dashed out the door.

After she got herself ready for school, Elena caught the bus to school; which she detested due to its constant chaotic atmosphere, which she wouldn't have minded so much if the other kids weren't so loud. Finally, the Bumblebee-colored School Bus arrived at Memorial High School, where Elena promptly exited, and walked onto the school campus. As Elena entered the school building, she made her way through the halls; where she met up with Miko and Raf, who were walking to the Biology classroom; though Miko was practically being dragged by Raf. Miko's hope was rekindled when she saw Elena walk up to her and Raf. "Elena! Good thing you're here! I need you to convince Raf here that I'm allergic to sciency stuff." Miko said with her usual perky voice. Elena playfully rolled her eyes at Miko's plea, "Nice to see you too, Miko." she said enthusiastically, "Hey Raf." "Hey Elena. Did you get the study sheets that I emailed to you for the pop quiz today?" Raf asked politely. "Yes. I read up on them a couple nights ago. Thanks for sending them, I don't know what I would of done without them." Elena replied kindly. "No problem." Raf replied, "Can you help me get Miko into the classroom?" "Sure." Elena replied, then grabbed a hold of Miko's hand and dragged Miko into the classroom along with Raf's help. "No! You'll never take me alive!" Miko shouted in protest as she was taken into the classroom, and the door was closed behind her; ending her escape plans for good. "Traitor." Miko sneered at Elena as she took a seat at her desk. Elena shrugged innocently before taking her seat, deliberately trying to avoid eye-contact with Miko.

Throughout Elena's classes, all she could think about was what her father had told her before he had left the house previously that morning. The thought of a Decepticon attack was both thrilling and terrifying to think about. What if her father was attacked by one? What was she supposed to do then? All Elena could do was pray to the Lord for her father's safety and keep her composure. After school, Elena met up with Jack, Miko, and Raf out on the stairs of the school entrance. She deliberately sat down next to Miko, who was farthest from Jack (whom she was not yet ready to speak to yet), and placed her desert-tan camouflage backpack, which was laden with heavy textbooks, on the step level she was at. "So, how about that Biology test huh?" Elena asked. "I still can't believe you betrayed me by dragging me in there." Miko said derisively, her pink-tipped twin-puffball buns bouncing as she turned her head away in anger. After Miko's comment, Elena's eyes went to Jack, who was sitting next to Raf, and had an uneasy expression on his face. Elena turned her gaze back away from Jack, as did he, and all four of them sat on the steps in awkward silence. Raf and Miko looked at each other and shared a confused glance as they noticed the awkwardness between Jack and Elena. It was the sound of car-horns honking that finally broke the discomforted silence. Elena and the others' attention was immediately drawn to the curbside, where Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead pulled up in their vehicle forms. Elena grabbed her backpack, and followed everyone as they all rushed over to the curb.

As Miko and Raf hopped inside of Bulkhead and Bumblebee, Elena felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Jack with an anxious expression on his face. "Elena, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said the other night. And -" "Its okay." Elena said, interrupting Jack before he finished his sentence. "What?" Jack asked in confused surprise. "I know that you were just worried about me. And I know that Optimus told my dad about what happened." Elena replied. "He did? Elena, I'm sorry." Jack replied apologetically. "Why are you sorry for that? It's not like you can control what a three-story tall robot says." Elena said positively. "Oh. Well then, do you.. need a ride to base? I don't see Wheel -" Before Jack could finish his sentence, the sound of an engine revving echoed through the parking lot; drawing Elena and Jack's attention. As Wheeljack pulled up in his sports car vehicle mode, Elena was surprised and overjoyed to see her guardian again, seeing as she hadn't seen him in a little while. "I guess not." Jack said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "See you later, Jack." Elena said as she walked over to Wheeljack. "Later? You're not going to the base?" Jack asked in a perplexed tone, as he walked over to Elena, who was buckling her seatbelt in Wheeljack. "Oh, I'll be at base later. Right now Wheeljack's going to take me to his ship, the Jackhammer. Going to work on the flying controls." Elena said cheerfully and a slight hint of mischief in her tone. "Alright then. I'll see you later." Jack replied, his mind beginning to wonder what Elena meant by, 'work on the flying controls'." "Don't worry kid. I'll bring her back in one piece." Wheeljack chimed in, before starting his engine and driving away.

Elena and Wheeljack arrived at the site where the Jackhammer was, and they were soon inside of it. "So, exactly how am I supposed to fly this thing?" Elena asked inquisitively, as she and Wheeljack walked into the cockpit of the ship, "It wasn't exactly easy last time." Wheeljack chuckled in amusement and looked down at Elena. "Don't worry sport, I made a few adjustments to the steering consol to fit your…smaller physique." Wheeljack pressed a few of the plethora of multi-colored buttons on the dashboard. After he pressed the final button, a human sized steering consol appeared out of the main steering consol and stretched down to the pilot's seat at human-sitting level. "All yours." Wheeljack said, extending his arm in invitation towards the pilot seat. Elena eagerly climbed onto the seat, with some help from Wheeljack, and began investigating the steering consol curiously. "Are you serious?" she asked in excitement. Wheeljack nodded, then sat down in the front passenger seat across form the pilot's seat. "Now, I assume you know how to get this baby off the ground?" he asked. "I think I remember. Let me see.." Elena replied as her hand hovered over the different holographic touch-screen buttons on the steering consol. "I think it was this one." she said as her hand pressed against a green button with what appeared to be an arrow pointing upwards on it. The ship gave a sudden jolt, as the engine began to whir as it started up. Elena turned to Wheeljack to make sure that was a good sound, and not a bad one. Wheeljack returned a positive glance which reassured Elena that she was doing this right.

Given new confidence, Elena grabbed a hold of the steering consol and pushed down on it slowly, which caused the ship to slowly rise into the air. "I'm doing it!" Elena exclaimed happily, thrilled by her accomplishment. "This isn't even the best part. Wait until we're actually in the clouds, thousands of feet in the air." Wheeljack said enthusiastically. "Thousands of feet?!" Elena exclaimed uneasily. "Oh come on you did it before! I think if you can fly the Jackhammer thousands of feet in the sky, while dodging a barrage of Insecticon fire, I think you can handle this." Wheeljack said, scoffing at Elena's nervousness. "Well that was pure adrenaline." Elena replied. "Trust me, you'll be fine." Wheeljack replied calmly. Elena took a deep breath, and pushed forward on the steering consol, steering the ship away from the cliffs that shielded the ship. Elena then pushed down on the consol, slowly flying the ship higher and higher into the sky. Once the ship was high in the cloud cover, Elena began to enjoy relax and enjoy herself a little, and Wheeljack could tell as he noticed a smile creep across Elena's face. "See? I told you so." he said cheerfully. Suddenly, Elena was overcome with pure joy, and she expressed it by jerking the steering consol sharply, sending the Jackhammer into a quick 360 degree spin. Wheeljack was surprised by the sudden stunt, but soon relaxed and chuckled joyously at Elena's sudden burst of boldness. "That's the spirit!" he chortled. Elena smiled at Wheeljack's words of encouragement, and unexpectedly pulled on the steering consol, causing the ship to perform a back flip. "Let's see how fast this thing can really go." Elena said daringly, as her hand found the thruster control button and pressed it, sending the ship rocketing through the sky.

After a few hours had passed by, Wheeljack had suggested that they land so he could refuel the ship. With the aspect of the ship running out of fuel mid-flight, Elena agreed with Wheeljack's suggestion and steered the ship back to the mesa. Elena slowly lowered the ship under the cliff, where it was mostly hidden by the rock face and successfully set the ship down on the ground. "I've gotta say that you're a natural pilot, Elena. Especially considering that you're a human." Wheeljack said. "Thanks." Elena replied, a proud smile evident on her face. "I bet your Dad would freak if he found out you flew the Jackhammer. Right?" Wheeljack jeered. _Her Dad! How could she have forgotten about him!? _"Yeah, he totally would." Elena said bluntly, trying to keep herself calm. "Hey Wheeljack. Could I you give me a ride to base? I told Jack that I'd be there later." Wheeljack looked at Elena. "Sure, but I'd think it'd be a lot easier if I just called Ratchet and asked him to open a bridge." Wheeljack replied. Elena looked at Wheeljack curiously. "You don't feel like driving today? And we have a new Autobot who just joined the team." she asked. "A newbie huh? I'll have to meet him. But for now I have to refuel the Jackhammer, and they're expecting you at the base, not me. Plus, I don't think the team really likes me." Wheeljack replied complacently before placing one of his hands to his com-link. "Ratchet, I need a bridge back to base for Elena." "Understood." Ratchet replied over the com-link. Wheeljack looked back at Elena with a slight smirk on his faceplate. "Don't worry Sport. I'll catch you later." he said kindly. Elena's attention was redirected as a ground bridge opened behind her. "Catch you later then." she said half-heartedly, before walking through the ground bridge.

Once Elena had exited the ground bridge, she was greeted to the familiar sound of Optimus and Ratchet discussing a crisis. She looked at the ground bridge controls to see Optimus and Ratchet discussing the problem in a most serious manner, and she was taken aback when she turned her head to see Miko excitedly pop up in front of her. "Elena! Guess what?!" she asked excitedly. "Uh…what?" Elena asked in confusion. "Remember Breakdown? The con that's Bulkhead's mortal enemy? Well he's back! I can't wait for a major rematch, one that Bulkhead's gonna totally win!" Miko replied, even more excitedly and energetically then before. "So that's the Decepticon that attacked the military base?" Elena asked curiously. "Yep. Though you don't have to worry about your Dad." Miko replied. "Why?" Elena asked suspiciously. "He's over there!" Miko replied as she pointed towards the second story ledge next to Ratchet and Optimus. Elena looked and saw her dad standing on the ledge talking to Optimus and Ratchet. _Thank God he's alright, _Elena thought. She made her way over to the staircase so she could get in on the conversation from a better vantage point. Elena climbed up the stairs and stood next to her father, who quickly took notice of her, but continued to listen to Optimus as he spoke to him. "…we must prevent the Decepticons from obtaining the codes to Project Damocles." "I don't mean to be rude but, what's Project Damocles?" Elena asked. "Project Damocles is a satellite-based weapon built by Leland Bishop, also known as Silas; that when activated, fires an extremely powerful energy beam at the chosen target. With pinpoint accuracy." Elena's father explained. "And now the cons have it. Great." Elena replied sarcastically. "So what are we supposed to do?" "You, Elena Alexandra Fowler, will stay here at base while Prime and the other Autobots will secure the warehouse where the codes are stored." Elena's father replied sternly. Elena's expression of curiosity soon turned to an expression of discontent, and with a swift and sudden turn, she walked down the stairs. Optimus briefly looked at Elena and then at Elena's father with a confused expression and lift of the optic ridge, before returning to the previous discussion with Ratchet and Agent Fowler.

Elena sharply walked over to the wall across from the ground bridge controls which Arcee was leaning against, and heatedly leaned against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. Arcee looked down at Elena. "Have to stay in the base?" she asked perceptively. "Yeah." Elena replied, with a bitter sharpness in her voice. "How'd you know?" "I know that look." Arcee replied. "Don't worry, they'll be other missions to go on." "Like my dad will let me go on a mission that involves action or danger." Elena replied sarcastically. "Who knows, he can't keep an eye on you every second." Arcee said with a slight tone of mischief in her voice. With her statement, Arcee pushed away from the wall and walked over to Optimus and Ratchet to join the conversation. Elena's gaze was redirected towards the couch, where Jack and Miko were resting on, as they listened to the ongoing conversation about Project Damocles. She noticed however, that Raf was missing from the trio. Curious, and not having anything else to occupy herself with, Elena walked over to the couch. "Hey Jack, where's Raf?" she asked. "He's grounded." Jack replied. "Are you kidding me? Raf is grounded?" Elena replied in sarcastic shock. "I know right? Guess Raf got an A- instead of an A+." Miko said in a chirpy tone. "Well that's something new. I guess he'll miss out on any action too." Elena replied in a downcast tone. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as Smokescreen stepped in-between him and Elena. "Hey Elena." Smokescreen said in a chipper tone. "Hey Smoke." Elena replied, trying to force her lips into a smile. "I just finished studying all the Wreckers' battles. I didn't know Bulkhead and the other Wreckers were in so many tight scrapes! They kicked so much Decepticon tailpipe in the days of the war." Smokescreen said excitedly. "The Wreckers huh? Well then, you should know that I'm an official Wrecker." Elena replied proudly. "What?! You can't be a Wrecker, you're a.. a human." Smokescreen replied in shock. "Yeah Elena. How can you be a Wrecker? I thought only Cybertronians could join." Jack asked in confusion. "Well according to Wheeljack, I'm an official member of the Wreckers. And so is Miko." Elena said. "Wait..Wheeljack? As in.._the _Wheeljack who took on a hundred Decepticons and blew them all sky high with a single grenade!?" Smokescreen asked in giddy surprise. "So I'm told. I piloted his ship and dodged a swarm of Insecticons that were on our tail, while he blew them up with a case of grenades that he exploded with his canons." Elena said confidently. "That's so cool! You've gotta let me meet him sometime." Smokescreen gushed. "I'll see what I can do." Elena replied smugly.

A short while later, Agent Fowler had ordered the evacuation from the warehouse, though to his surprise, they had already evacuated. "Strange." Elena's father said. "What is it, Agent Fowler?" Optimus asked in curiosity. "I ordered all personnel at the warehouse to evacuate, but it seems they already have." Agent Fowler replied. "Why would all of the humans evacuated if you didn't give the order?" Ratchet asked impatiently. "I'm not sure." Agent Fowler replied, "Prime, I think you and your team should head out to the warehouse now. Something doesn't seem right." "Very well, Agent Fowler." Optimus said. "Autobots! Roll out!" Ratchet activated the ground bridge with a pull of the lever, causing the familiar portal of green light to appear in the bridge. "alright! I'm ready to pound some new dents into those cons! Let's roll!" Bulkhead said harshly, pounding his fists together as he spoke. "I have not yet cleared you for active duty, Bulkhead. Nor are you ready to roll." Ratchet protested, causing Bulkhead to moan in displeasure. Optimus walked through the ground bridge, along with Arcee, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen, leaving only Jack, Miko, Elena, Bulkhead, Elena's father, and Ratchet in the base. Elena remained positioned against the wall, thinking about how useless she was feeling being stuck at base. Jack noticed Elena's displeased expression, and hesitantly got up from his seat on the couch and approached her. "Hey, don't worry Elena. I'm sure you'll get to go out on another mission soon." he said bashfully, "Honestly I didn't think you'd be so eager to rush into another crazy Decepticon battle." Elena looked at Jack slowly, trying to contain her anger while at the same time being civil to him. "I guess you're right. I just don't like being left here at base like a third wheel. It makes me feel useless and weak." Elena replied. "Tell me about it." Bulkhead added in. "I've been out of action longer than I'd like, and I'm itching to pound some Decepticon tailpipe." "When you get better Bulk, you'll be smashing cons left and right even better than before!" Miko said eagerly.

Elena and the others had barely had a moment of quiet before the communication link activated. An image of Optimus's profile appeared on the communications screen. "The Decepticons have preceded us!" Optimus said. Everyone was slightly surprised by the news, but not completely, seeing as the Decepticons always are quick. "The Decepticons are already there?" Jack asked. "It would appear so. But how could they have gotten there without causing an uproar from the humans on site?" Ratchet replied. "That's' it!" Elena exclaimed. "What is?" Jack asked curiously. "Earlier you said that the base had already been evacuated, right?" Elena asked her father. "Yes." Elena's father replied. "Maybe the Decepticons somehow used an evacuation recording to trick the personnel at the base into leaving. That's why they were already gone!" Elena explained energetically. "But how could they do that?" Miko asked. "Soundwave." Jack said bluntly. "Who?" Elena asked. "A Decepticon who specializes in surveillance and reconnaissance. He's also what you might call the 'hacker' of the Decepticons." Ratchet explained. "Ratchet, we require backup!" Optimus exclaimed over the communication link. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the communication screen. "I'm there!" Bulkhead stated as he pounded his fists together in anticipation. Ratchet scoffed and placed a defiant hand on Bulkhead's shoulder. "Can you remotely disable Project Damocles under Agent Fowler's advisement?" Optimus asked. "On a human-based computer network? Without my backup? Without Rafael?!" Ratchet exclaimed in doubt. "We could just bridge to his house, couldn't we?" Elena asked. "Indeed you could." Ratchet said in a pleased tone before turning to Agent Fowler. "Agent Fowler, I will bridge you and the children into Rafael's home. You must have him disable Project Damocles before it is too late." "Understood, Doc." Agent Fowler replied. "Finally I'll be able to help somehow." Elena muttered to herself as she and the others walked into the ground bridge. Elena, Jack, Miko, and Elena's father walked through the ground bridge to come into a small bedroom. In front of them was the back of Rafael, who was busy studying on his computer. As the ground bridge closed, Rafael noticed their presence and whipped around quickly in surprise. "What are you guys doing here?!" he exclaimed in shock as he jumped out of his chair. "Son, your planet needs you." Elena's father said as he handed Rafael the folder containing the information on Project Damocles. Rafael looked at it curiously, before hesitantly taking it out of Agent Fowler's hand. "Alright, but you guys have to be quiet."

Rafael quickly typed away on his computer with speed and precision that Elena had never witnessed before; not even by the hundreds of computer analysts and experts she had seen in military bases. Suddenly, a screen of Project Damocles appeared on Rafael's computer. "I'm in, but I can't reach the targeting systems. Too many firewalls." Rafael said, before returning to typing away on his computer. "Come on son! If the Cons get that interface code, they'll light up the skies twenty-four-seven." Elena's father exclaimed. "You can do it, Raf!" Miko said encouragingly. "Let them have the code. It won't do them any good without the satellite." Rafael replied confidently. "I can't say I follow you." Elena's father said bluntly. "All satellites have maneuvering thrusters, so they can adjust their orbits. If I can break into the satellite's sub-routine, I can bring the whole satellite down." Rafael said as he looked through the Project Damocles folder. "So all you have to do is hack into the satellite's maneuvering thrusters and you can crash the satellite?" Elena asked. "Yes, but I have to get in first." Rafael replied. "Great!" Elena's father exclaimed. "Now, which way's the bathroom?" Jack, Elena, and Miko all turned around and looked at Agent Fowler. "Are you serious, Dad?" Elena asked in aversion. "What!?" Rafael exclaimed, turning around in his chair to face Agent Fowler. "No. If my mom sees you -" "Relax. I trained in Covert Ops." Agent Fowler said calmly. "I don't care if you were trained by a ninja. My mom has eyes in the back of _YOUR _head!" Elena could barely suppress a giggle at Rafael's comment. Seeing her father's face was all too amusing. Elena stood by the window and leaned against the wall near it. Rafael was busy typing away on the keyboard, and her father had just slipped outside on a dangerous mission to find the bathroom. She glanced out the window and looked up at the star-covered night sky, wondering where and how far away the Damocles satellite could be. Elena looked back towards the room. Jack and Miko were circled around Rafael as he continued to work furiously on his computer, occasionally looking back to the folder for more information. Suddenly, Elena heard the sound of tires screeching and quickly looked outside; though Jack, Miko, and Rafael didn't respond, seeing as they were wrapped up in the task at hand. Elena peered outside the window to see a large blue jeep-like vehicle parked outside in the street, with a glowing yellow cannon attached to the roof. Just as she was about to sound off, a familiar green jeep slammed into the blue vehicle; overturning it and pushing it along the street, and out of Elena's line of sight. "Guys!" she exclaimed. "Shh!" Jack, Miko, and Rafael shushed Elena, before returning their focus onto the computer. Elena rolled her eyes before grabbing her cell phone and dialed a number.

Bulkhead had pushed the blue Decepticon into an irrigation ditch, and transformed in mid-air, landing on his feet on the hard concrete below. The blue Decepticon transformed and landed across from Bulkhead. "Been a long time since I've seen you Breakdown. Where've you been?" Bulkhead asked in a taunting voice. "Be patient. I'm about to send you there." the blue Decepticon replied smugly. A wave of realization hit Bulkhead as he realized that wasn't Breakdown's voice. "You're not Breakdown!" he exclaimed. "but you are Bulkhead, and this is the last time you'll interfere with one of my operations." the blue Decepticon replied. "Silas." Bulkhead said in angry realization. "In the flesh. In a manner of speaking." Silas replied before transforming his right hand into a giant hammer. He then charged at Bulkhead, who in turn, transformed his right hand into a mace-like fist and charged at Silas. The two exchanged blow after blow; both landing painful blows on each other, one after the other. Silas slammed his hammer against Bulkhead's faceplate, stunning him before he landed another devastating blow to the jaw-hinge which sent Bulkhead reeling back. Bulkhead recovered and looked up at Silas, who mockingly taunted Bulkhead by signaling with his left hand to bring it on. Bulkhead filled with anger and charged at Silas again.

Smokescreen was in his vehicle mode driving around the edge of the warehouse. The Damocles satellite had not fired in a while, and he had a clear shot at the warehouse. "I've got a clear shot!" he exclaimed before hitting the gas and accelerating towards the warehouse. Suddenly, a beam of orange light blasted down right in front of Smokescreen, causing him to immediately turn around and park away from it. "Scratch that." he said in a defeated tone. All of a sudden, Smokescreen got an incoming call over his com-link. "Hello?" he asked in a perplexed tone. "Hey Smoke, it's Elena." Elena replied. "Elena? Why are you calling me?" Smokescreen asked. "I need a favor, it's important." Elena replied. "I'm a little busy right now." he said as he maneuvered away from the Damocles satellite's fire. "Just listen to me. I'm at Rafael's house and I need an assist." Elena replied in a serious tone. "An assist? What for?" Smokescreen asked curiously. "Bulkhead's facing off against a Decepticon, and I think he might use some help. Plus, you can't get into that warehouse until Raf disables the satellite." Elena replied. "Understood, miss." Smokescreen replied before ending the call. Realizing that the call had ended, Elena put her phone away in one of the pockets in her jeans. _Did he just call me 'miss'? _Elena thought to herself, curious and confused by Smokescreen's kind word. Suddenly, Rafael exclaimed in frustration. "Where did they hide the sub-strain?" Rafael said in an irritated tone.

As the battle continued, Bulkhead was losing steam and energy fast. He swung his mace-fist at Silas weakly, in a desperate attempt to keep fighting. "You're reaction time is slow." Silas said, dodging another one of Bulkhead's blows. "You're favoring your right side." Silas said as he easily avoided another blow from Bulkhead, who had stopped throwing blows and was struggling to stay on his feet. Silas looked at Bulkhead with a menacing grin. "Legs are weak." he said as Bulkhead came at him with an attempted blow. Silas easily dodged Bulkhead's attack and knocked him back with a combination of powerful blows. Bulkhead skidded across the concrete for hundreds of feet before coming to a complete stop. He was too weak and beaten to stand up, and remained facing down on the ground as Silas walked up to him. "You should've stayed in bed, Autobot." Silas said evilly as he raised his hammer for the final blow. The sound of tires screeching caught Silas's attention. As he looked in the direction of the sound, he was taken by surprise as he was kicked in the face by Smokescreen, and was thrown back a small distance away. Bulkhead looked up to see Smokescreen standing above him. "Assist. What the new guy's for." Smokescreen said as he offered his hand to Bulkhead. Bulkhead took Smokescreen's hand and was quickly helped onto his feet. Smokescreen and Bulkhead looked back to Silas and were surprised to see him standing right next to them. "One new guy to another: This is your final day on the job." he said cockily before shouting a battle cry and charging at them. Silas brought his hammer down, but missed as Bulkhead and Smokescreen dodged, his hammer slamming into the concrete.

Back in Rafael's house, everyone was on edge as Rafael was making progress. "I'm almost there." Rafael said as he typed away. Elena. Jack, and Miko looked at the screen curiously as an image of the targeting system moved away from the Autobots. "Raf, rock on! It's moving!" Miko exclaimed in excitement. "Um, that isn't me." Rafael replied worriedly. "Then the Decepticons are?" Elena asked. "Um, guys. That's Jasper." Jack said in a worried tone. "Ooh! I can see my host-parents house!" Miko shouted elatedly, causing everyone to look at her disdainfully. Everyone looked back at the computer screen to see the targeting system of the satellite continue to move over Jasper. The target stopped over a house and locked on. "And I can see my house. Right in their target sight!" Rafael exclaimed. Elena's expression turned to shock as she and everyone else realized that the Damocles satellite was right above them. "Anytime, son!" Agent Fowler said as he tried to keep his composure. "Full thruster burn!" Rafael shouted as he furiously typed away on the keyboard, pressing the "Enter" button within seconds. Elena watched anxiously as the target sight on screen quickly moved away from Rafael's house. Everyone shouted in joy at Rafael's accomplishment. Jack, Elena and Elena's father jumped in the air happily, and Miko fist bumped the air before quickly and happily hugging Rafael. Elena was surprised when Jack embraced Elena and hugged her as they leapt. Jack quickly realized what he was doing and released Elena from his embrace and they both awkwardly turned away from each other. "Um.." Elena mumbled. "Yeah…sorry." Jack said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Oh no, it's my mom!" Rafael exclaimed in shock. "Hurry, everyone get down!" "How will that help?" Elena asked. "Just.. Quick! Everyone grab one of my textbooks and open them like you're reading them." Rafael ordered. "Me? Read a textbook? As if." Miko said in defiance. "Just do it!" Rafael, Jack, and Elena exclaimed. "Miko scoffed before quickly grabbed a textbook and opening it. "Rafael Jorge Gonzales Esquivel!" an angry female voice shouted from outside Rafael's room. Just as Miko opened the book, the door to the room opened, and Rafael's mother walked in. "What are you doing in here?" she asked. Elena looked at Rafael's mother, she was calmly smiling on the outside, but she was praying on the inside. "Study group." Rafael replied calmly.

In the irrigation ditch, the battle between Smokescreen, Bulkhead, and Silas continued as Bulkhead pounded Silas with a barrage of fist-blows to the lower torso. The force of the blows caused Silas to turn in the other direction, where he was greeted by a jump-kick to the chest by Smokescreen, and was sent reeling head-over-heels back against the hard concrete. Silas pushed himself up with his hands weakly, and looked at Smokescreen and Bulkhead. "Silas. Return to base immediately." Megatron ordered him over the com-link. Silas grimaced, then activated his blaster on his shoulder and fired a missile at Smokescreen and Bulkhead. They managed to dodge the missile, which created a cloud of fire and shrapnel, and by the time they looked back at Silas, he was running away into the Decepticon's ground bridge. As it closed, Bulkhead and Smokescreen heard a roaring sound and looked up into the night sky to see a flaming object burning up in the sky. "looks like someone's big plan just burned up in re-entry." Bulkhead said smugly, before exchanging a high-five bump combo with Smokescreen. "And for the record. I studied every one of the Wreckers' battles." Smokescreen said with a grin. "There's hope for you yet, newbie." Bulkhead replied.

Elena was amazed at how they all had managed to avoid getting fried by Project Damocles and barely escaped the wrath of Rafael's mother in the same day. Elena, Jack, Miko, and her father finished their "Study group" and left Rafael's house. Rafael's mother, though described as terrifying by Rafael, was quite hospitable to Elena and the others, even inviting everyone to stay for dinner. Jack and Miko explained that they couldn't stay, and were soon picked up by Arcee and Bulkhead. Elena and her father however were hungry from a long day's work of saving the planet and took up Rafael's mother on her offer. After dinner was finished, Elena and her father said goodbye to Rafael and his mother and left the house. "I'll call for pickup." Elena's father said. "Wait Dad. I'm calling Wheeljack, I might be able to get us a ride from him." Elena said. "There's no way in Sam Hill that I'm riding with that crazy bot!" Elena's father said. Elena's father's words went unheard as Elena was already in the middle of making a call to Wheeljack, but only received an automated recorded message. "Who knew alien robots had voice mail?" she said to herself. "Come again?" Elena's father asked. "Looks like we'll just have to wait for your ride." Elena answered. "I don't think so." a cheerful voice said. Elena turned around to see Smokescreen pull up to the curb. "I can give you guys a lift home." "Thanks Smoke." Elena said kindly, before turning around to her father. "Come on Dad. Ever ride in a race car before?" "No, and I don't plan to." he replied. "Aw come on, Fowler. Live a little." Smokescreen said, joining in on the conversation. "Even if you did give us a ride, we're in another state. That would take at least a day of nonstop driving, and I plan on getting home tonight." Elena's father replied scornfully. "I'll have Ratchet bridge us to Jasper. I'll drive you guys home from there." Smokescreen replied. Elena turned to her father with big eyes. "Please Dad? It'll be fun." she pleaded. Elena's father looked at Elena then at Smokescreen. He sighed. "Alright. But if he does any fancy turns or goes over the speed limit-" "Yes! Thanks Dad!" Elena exclaimed, giving her father a quick hug before dashing away towards Smokescreen, who opened the front passenger door for her. Elena quickly hopped in and buckled up, as her father slowly made his way to the driver's side, which Smokescreen opened his door. Elena's father sat down in the driver's seat and buckled up. "Here we go." Smokescreen said before hitting the gas and driving down the street. The sudden acceleration caught Elena's father off guard, and his eyes opened wide with shock as he gripped the sides of his seat tightly. "Whoo-hoo!" Elena shouted with enjoyment as Smokescreen accelerated. The ground bridge that Smokescreen had sent for opened in the middle of the street, which Smokescreen drove through, landing Smokescreen, Elena, and Agent Fowler on the empty desert roads of Jasper, Nevada. "I told you to drive the speed limit!" Elena's father shouted. "There's no speed limit when there's an empty road!" Smokescreen shouted as he sped down the empty road towards town.


End file.
